Sample records for military surveillance systems

the US Office of Management and Budget’s core- based statistical area (CBSA) to group healthcare data from the respective VA and DoD systems by...Combining SurveillanceSystems: Effective Merging of U.S. Veteran and Military Health Data Julie A. Pavlin1*, Howard S. Burkom2, Yevgeniy Elbert2... data from October 2006 through September 2010 to demonstrate geographic and demographic coverage, timeliness of influenza epidemic awareness, and impact

Background In recent years a wide variety of epidemiological surveillancesystems have been developed to provide early identification of outbreaks of infectious disease. Each system has had its own strengths and weaknesses. In 2002 a Working Group of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced a framework for evaluation, which proved suitable for many public health surveillancesystems. However this did not easily adapt to the military setting, where by necessity a variety of different parameters are assessed, different constraints placed on the systems, and different objectives required. This paper describes a proposed framework for evaluation of military syndromic surveillancesystems designed to detect outbreaks of disease on operational deployments. Methods The new framework described in this paper was developed from the cumulative experience of British and French military syndromic surveillancesystems. The methods included a general assessment framework (CDC), followed by more specific methods of conducting evaluation. These included Knowledge/Attitude/Practice surveys (KAP surveys), technical audits, ergonomic studies, simulations and multi-national exercises. A variety of military constraints required integration into the evaluation. Examples of these include the variability of geographical conditions in the field, deployment to areas without prior knowledge of naturally-occurring disease patterns, the differences in field sanitation between locations and over the length of deployment, the mobility of military forces, turnover of personnel, continuity of surveillance across different locations, integration with surveillancesystems from other nations working alongside each other, compatibility with non-medical information systems, and security. Results A framework for evaluation has been developed that can be used for militarysurveillancesystems in a staged manner consisting of initial, intermediate and final evaluations. For each stage

During recent years, in order to meet increased demands for aerial surveillance data and due to decreased availability of support from military tactical reconnaissance organizations, many state and federal agencies have begun to expand their organic reconnaissance capabilities. Agencies have attempted to minimize system costs by procuring excess military sensors, only to find that adaptation of existing military sensor control and data annotation systems, or development of application specific systems, is cost prohibitive. One proposed solution to this dilemma, as presented within this paper, is user integrated reconnaissance systems which can include excess military sensors, but which also make extensive use of cost effective commercially procurable reconnaissance management system (RMS) components.

Responses were received from 37 HSC medical treatment facilities (100%) regarding their occupational health surveillance programs. The occupational ...personnel determined to be potentially exposed to occupational or job- related hazards, medical surveillance programs are limited, if available at all. An...exposed to occupational or job-related hazards would require more adequate staffing to provide the services. Identification of personnel at risk could be

unexplained symptoms in populations that have deployed. • Implement a joint computerized patient record and other automated recordkeeping that meets the...implementation of a health surveillancesystem that completely spans an individual’s time in service. • Implement strategies to address medically

network and use the specific presentation methods. In addition, the S4 is compliant with Open Geospatial Consortium - Sensor Web Enablement (OGC-SWE) standards to efficiently discover, access, use, and control heterogeneous sensors and their metadata. These S4 capabilities and technologies have great potential for both military and civilian applications, enabling highly effective security support tools for improving surveillance activities in densely crowded environments. The S4 system is directly applicable to solutions for emergency response personnel, law enforcement, and other homeland security missions, as well as in applications requiring the interoperation of sensor networks with handheld or body-worn interface devices.

Unattended ground sensor (UGS) networks have been widely used in remote battlefield and other tactical applications over the last few decades due to the advances of the digital signal processing. The UGS network can be applied in a variety of areas including border surveillance, special force operations, perimeter and building protection, target acquisition, situational awareness, and force protection. In this paper, a highly-distributed, fault-tolerant, and energyefficient Smart Sensing SurveillanceSystem (S4) is presented to efficiently provide 24/7 and all weather security operation in a situation management environment. The S4 is composed of a number of distributed nodes to collect, process, and disseminate heterogeneous sensor data. Nearly all S4 nodes have passive sensors to provide rapid omnidirectional detection. In addition, Pan- Tilt- Zoom- (PTZ) Electro-Optics EO/IR cameras are integrated to selected nodes to track the objects and capture associated imagery. These S4 camera-connected nodes will provide applicable advanced on-board digital image processing capabilities to detect and track the specific objects. The imaging detection operations include unattended object detection, human feature and behavior detection, and configurable alert triggers, etc. In the S4, all the nodes are connected with a robust, reconfigurable, LPI/LPD (Low Probability of Intercept/ Low Probability of Detect) wireless mesh network using Ultra-wide band (UWB) RF technology, which can provide an ad-hoc, secure mesh network and capability to relay network information, communicate and pass situational awareness and messages. The S4 utilizes a Service Oriented Architecture such that remote applications can interact with the S4 network and use the specific presentation methods. The S4 capabilities and technologies have great potential for both military and civilian applications, enabling highly effective security support tools for improving surveillance activities in densely crowded

An intelligent video surveillancesystem is able to detect and identify abnormal and alarming situations by analyzing object movement. The Smart Sensing Surveillance Video (S3V) System is proposed to minimize video processing and transmission, thus allowing a fixed number of cameras to be connected on the system, and making it suitable for its applications in remote battlefield, tactical, and civilian applications including border surveillance, special force operations, airfield protection, perimeter and building protection, and etc. The S3V System would be more effective if equipped with visual understanding capabilities to detect, analyze, and recognize objects, track motions, and predict intentions. In addition, alarm detection is performed on the basis of parameters of the moving objects and their trajectories, and is performed using semantic reasoning and ontologies. The S3V System capabilities and technologies have great potential for both military and civilian applications, enabling highly effective security support tools for improving surveillance activities in densely crowded environments. It would be directly applicable to solutions for emergency response personnel, law enforcement, and other homeland security missions, as well as in applications requiring the interoperation of sensor networks with handheld or body-worn interface devices.

This paper proposes a new technology,``a bodygraphic injury surveillancesystem (BISS)'' that not only accumulates accident situation data but also represents injury data based on a human body coordinate system in a standardized and multilayered way. Standardized and multilayered representation of injury enables accumulation, retrieval, sharing, statistical analysis, and modeling causalities of injury across different fields such as medicine, engineering, and industry. To confirm the effectiveness of the developed system, the authors collected 3,685 children's injury data in cooperation with a hospital. As new analyses based on the developed BISS, this paper shows bodygraphically statistical analysis and childhood injury modeling using the developed BISS and Bayesian network technology.

Approved as a Wallops control center backup system, the Wallops Ship Surveillance Software is a day-of-launch risk analysis tool for spaceport activities. The system calculates impact probabilities and displays ship locations relative to boundary lines. It enables rapid analysis of possible flight paths to preclude the need to cancel launches and allow execution of launches in a timely manner. Its design is based on low-cost, large-customer- base elements including personal computers, the Windows operating system, C/C++ object-oriented software, and network interfaces. In conformance with the NASA software safety standard, the system is designed to ensure that it does not falsely report a safe-for-launch condition. To improve the current ship surveillance method, the system is designed to prevent delay of launch under a safe-for-launch condition. A single workstation is designated the controller of the official ship information and the official risk analysis. Copies of this information are shared with other networked workstations. The program design is divided into five subsystems areas: 1. Communication Link -- threads that control the networking of workstations; 2. Contact List -- a thread that controls a list of protected item (ocean vessel) information; 3. Hazard List -- threads that control a list of hazardous item (debris) information and associated risk calculation information; 4. Display -- threads that control operator inputs and screen display outputs; and 5. Archive -- a thread that controls archive file read and write access. Currently, most of the hazard list thread and parts of other threads are being reused as part of a new ship surveillancesystem, under the SureTrak project.

Sonoma offers the first cost-effective, broad-area, high-resolution, real-time motion imagery system for surveillance applications. Sonoma is unique in its ability to provide continuous, real-time video imagery of an area the size of a small city with resolutions sufficient to track 8,000 moving objects in the field of view. At higher resolutions and over smaller areas, Sonoma can even track the movement of individual people. The visual impact of the data available from Sonoma is already causing a paradigm shift in the architecture and operation of other surveillancesystems. Sonoma is expected to cost just one-tenth the price of comparably sized sensor systems. Cameras mounted on an airborne platform constantly monitor an area, feeding data to the ground for real-time analysis. Sonoma was designed to provide real-time data for actionable intelligence in situations such as monitoring traffic, special events, border security, and harbors. If a Sonoma system had been available in the aftermath of the Katrina and Rita hurricanes, emergency responders would have had real-time information on roads, water levels, and traffic conditions, perhaps saving many lives.

may be used as a tool to deter lawful political activity, and courts may view overt militarysurveillance as evidence of a bad faith purpose instead of...a good faith physical security purpose.19 Evidence of bad faith makes it more likely that a court will find standing.󈨧 Surveillance can become...event of a delu~ohoal aflhto srenewved or the iiaUtKi’i is o)therisie nainr and assorted Srauik" fils may be McAWi~i * retnainabh!e munder this

On October 8, 2001, an Executive Order was signed creating the White House Office of Homeland Security. With its formaiton comes focused attention in setting goals and priorities for homeland security. Analysis, preparation, and implementation of strategies will hinge not only on how information is collected and analyzed, but more important, on how it is coordinated and shared. Military installations/facilities, Public safety agencies, airports, federal and local offices, public utilities, harbors, transportation and others critical areas must work either independently or as a team to ensure the safety of our citizens and visitor. In this new era of increased security, the key to interoperation is continuous information exchanged-events must be rapidly identified, reported and responded to by the appropriate agencies. For instance when a threat has been detected the security officers must be immediately alerted and must have access to the type of threat, location, movement, heading, threat size, etc to respond accordingly and the type of support required. This requires instant communications and teamwork with reliable and flexible technology.

Passive ground-based radio-interferometry systems (RILS) monitor local air traffic by determining aircraft position in planes defined by surveillance area. Similar RILS arrangements are used to determine aircraft positions in three dimensions when combined with azimuth and range information obtained by radar. Information helps determine three-dimensional aircraft position without expensive encoding altimeters.

A system and method for monitoring an industrial process and/or industrial data source. The system includes generating time varying data from industrial data sources, processing the data to obtain time correlation of the data, determining the range of data, determining learned states of normal operation and using these states to generate expected values, comparing the expected values to current actual values to identify a current state of the process closest to a learned, normal state; generating a set of modeled data, and processing the modeled data to identify a data pattern and generating an alarm upon detecting a deviation from normalcy.

The structure and orbital configuration of the advanced space system for geostationary orbit surveillance, as well as possible approaches to the development of the satellite bus and payload for the geostationary orbit surveillance, are considered.

The battlefield optical surveillancesystem (BOSS) was developed for DARPA by the U.S. Air Force's Phillips Laboratory. BOSS is a HMMWV mounted laser surveillance and deterrence system. It is intended to be used to detect and to deter potentially hostile individuals, snipers and groups of agitators. The BOSS integrates the following: (1) a thermal camera (8-12 micrometer FLIR), that detects and cues to possible targets, (2) a 45 watt, 808 nm (near IR), air- cooled laser which provides covert illumination and designation for a day/night camera to acquire said target and attain a high-resolution image using night vision equipment, and (3) a 1 watt, 532 nm (green) laser that overtly illuminates and designates the target. It also has significant deterring effects both physiological and psychological on individuals and crowds. BOSS offers the potential capability to detect snipers before the first shot is fired. Detection of optical augmentations and the thermal characteristics of a sniper allows for this early detection. The integration of BOSS with acoustic sniper detection systems are being explored.

Recently, the militarysystem has begun to feel the impact of the military family. Whenever sudden dramatic changes or transitions occur, crises may result either for the individual or for the institution. At present both the militarysystem and the military family are in a period of rapid transition. Perhaps one of the most important changes that…

The military implications of the reference satellite power system (SPS) were examined is well as important military related study tasks. Primary areas of investigation were the potential of the SPS as a weapon, for supporting U.S. military preparedness, and for affecting international relations. In addition, the SPS's relative vulnerability to overt military action, terrorist attacks, and sabotage was considered.

The implementation of a quality surveillance program can be painless and productive. The system described in this report has been in use at the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF) for more than a year and effectively fills the void between audits and inspections. Recognized benefits of this system include: minimum administrative overhead; excellent management overview; ease of implementing trending efforts; audit supplement; fully computerization; lower cost than traditional methods; early problem detection, adaptability to other projects and facilities.

Despite an increase in foreign tourism and in the numbers of foreign military personnel deployed to Djibouti, little is known about the risk of gastrointestinal illness in this country in eastern Africa. To assess risk and to describe common features of gastrointestinal illnesses, reports of illness derived from military health surveillance data collected during 2005-2009 among French service members deployed to Djibouti were reviewed. Diarrhea was the most common problem; it had an annual incidence ranging from 260 to 349 cases per 1,000 person-years. The risk was higher among soldiers deployed short-term (four months) than among soldiers deployed long-term (two years). This five-year review of French health surveillance data documents a significant burden of diarrhea among French soldiers in Djibouti. The identification of factors associated with risk may permit efficient targeting of interventions to reduce morbidity from gastrointestinal illness.

An evaluation research methodology was used to determine whether deployment health surveillance for Special Operations Forces conformed with Department of Defense policy directives for the specified target population. Data for this methodology were based on pre- and postdeployment health assessments as well as patient encounters recorded during deployments. The data represented 1,094 individual and unique Special Operations Forces members deployed to 12 different countries from October 2000 through December 2001. Results from the study suggested that military deployment health surveillance policy goals for predeployment medical referrals, patient data capture, and documentation during the deployment and postdeployment medical referrals were being poorly met when Department of Defense and Joint Chiefs of Staff mandates were applied to Special Operations Forces in an unconventional operations environment. Preliminary evaluation indicates that deployment health surveillance implementation could be improved with the introduction of policy awareness education, training, and technology.

International economic and military dependence on space assets is pervasive and ever-growing in an environment that is now congested, contested, and competitive. There are a number of natural and man-made risks that need to be monitored and characterized to protect and preserve the space environment and the assets within it. Unfortunately, today's space surveillance network (SSN) has gaps in coverage, is not resilient, and has a growing number of objects that get lost. Risks can be efficiently and effectively mitigated, gaps closed, resiliency improved, and performance increased within a next generation space surveillance network implemented as a system-of-systems with modern information architectures and analytic techniques. This also includes consideration for the newest SSN sensors (e.g. Space Fence) which are born Net-Centric out-of-the-box and able to seamlessly interface with the JSpOC Mission System, global information grid, and future unanticipated users. Significant opportunity exists to integrate legacy, traditional, and non-traditional sensors into a larger space system-of-systems (including command and control centers) for multiple clients through low cost sustainment, modification, and modernization efforts. Clients include operations centers (e.g. JSpOC, USSTRATCOM, CANSPOC), Intelligence centers (e.g. NASIC), space surveillance sensor sites (e.g. AMOS, GEODSS), international governments (e.g. Germany, UK), space agencies (e.g. NASA), and academic institutions. Each has differing priorities, networks, data needs, timeliness, security, accuracy requirements and formats. Enabling processes and technologies include: Standardized and type accredited methods for secure connections to multiple networks, machine-to-machine interfaces for near real-time data sharing and tip-and-queue activities, common data models for analytical processing across multiple radar and optical sensor types, an efficient way to automatically translate between differing client and

Gene expression profiles permit analysis of host immune response at the transcriptome level. We used the Pax gene Blood RNA (PAX) System and Affymetrix microarrays (HG-U133A&B) to survey profiles in basic military trainees and to classify them as healthy, febrile respiratory illness (FRI) without adenovirus, FRI with adenovirus, and convalescent from FRI with adenovirus. We assessed quality metrics of RNA processing for microarrays. Class prediction analysis discovered nested sets of transcripts that could categorize the phenotypes with optimized accuracy of 99% (nonfebrile vs febrile, P<0.0005), 87% (healthy vs convalescent, P=0.001), and 91% (febrile without vs with adenovirus, P<0.0005). The discovered set for classification of nonfebrile vs febrile patients consisted of 40 transcripts with functions related to interferon induced genes, complement cascades, and TNF and IL1 signaling. The set of seven transcripts for distinguishing healthy vs convalescent individuals included those associated with ribosomal structure, humoral immunity, and cell adhesion. The set of 10 transcripts for distinguishing FRI without vs with adenovirus had functions related to interferon induced genes, IL1 receptor accessory protein, and cell interactions. These results are the first in vivo demonstration of classification of infectious diseases via host signature transcripts and move us towards using the transcriptome in bio-surveillance.

upward are usually indications of how effectively the system is developing or operating. The use of computers in information systems tends to increase...computers into information systems must always begin at the lowest level of aggregation in the job hierarchy. Only those information-processing jobs

A method and system for monitoring at least one of a system, a process and a data source. A method and system have been developed for carrying out surveillance, testing and modification of an ongoing process or other source of data, such as a spectroscopic examination. A signal from the system under surveillance is collected and compared with a reference signal, a frequency domain transformation carried out for the system signal and reference signal, a frequency domain difference function established. The process is then repeated until a full range of data is accumulated over the time domain and a Sequential Probability Ratio Test ("SPRT") methodology applied to determine a three-dimensional surface plot characteristic of the operating state of the system under surveillance.

A method and system for monitoring at least one of a system, a process and a data source. A method and system have been developed for carrying out surveillance, testing and modification of an ongoing process or other source of data, such as a spectroscopic examination. A signal from the system under surveillance is collected and compared with a reference signal, a frequency domain transformation carried out for the system signal and reference signal, a frequency domain difference function established. The process is then repeated until a full range of data is accumulated over the time domain and a Sequential Probability Ratio Test methodology applied to determine a three-dimensional surface plot characteristic of the operating state of the system under surveillance.

A method and system for monitoring at least one of a system, a process and a data source. A method and system have been developed for carrying out surveillance, testing and modification of an ongoing process or other source of data, such as a spectroscopic examination. A signal from the system under surveillance is collected and compared with a reference signal, a frequency domain transformation carried out for the system signal and reference signal, a frequency domain difference function established. The process is then repeated until a full range of data is accumulated over the time domain and a SPRT sequential probability ratio test methodology applied to determine a three-dimensional surface plot characteristic of the operating state of the system under surveillance.

A method and system for monitoring at least one of a system, a process and a data source. A method and system have been developed for carrying out surveillance, testing and modification of an ongoing process or other source of data, such as a spectroscopic examination. A signal from the system under surveillance is collected and compared with a reference signal, a frequency domain transformation carried out for the system signal and reference signal, a frequency domain difference function established. The process is then repeated until a full range of data is accumulated over the time domain and a Sequential Probability Ratio Test ("SPRT") methodology applied to determine a three-dimensional surface plot characteristic of the operating state of the system under surveillance.

A method and system for automatically establishing operational parameters of a statistical surveillancesystem. The method and system performs a frequency domain transition on time dependent data, a first Fourier composite is formed, serial correlation is removed, a series of Gaussian whiteness tests are performed along with an autocorrelation test, Fourier coefficients are stored and a second Fourier composite is formed. Pseudorandom noise is added, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed to establish SPRT missed alarm probabilities and tested with a synthesized signal. A false alarm test is then emperically evaluated and if less than a desired target value, then SPRT probabilities are used for performing surveillance.

A system using Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs), equipped for real time telemetry of video imagery, sensor support data, and GPS/INS navigation, is being developed to provide situational awareness (SA) to the central command of mass casualty incident response. UAVs provide an inexpensive and safe means of acquiring video surveillance in chaotic disaster scenes, while being durable and non-intrusive. The system provides autonomous surveillance of defined perimeters, video tracking and active following of targets of interest, and real time cueing to other imaging UAVs.

Terrain Commander is a fully automated forward observation post that provides the most advanced capability in surveillance and remote situational awareness. The Terrain Commander system was selected by the Australian Government for its NINOX Phase IIB Unattended Ground Sensor Program with the first systems delivered in August of 2002. Terrain Commander offers next generation target detection using multi-spectral peripheral sensors coupled with autonomous day/night image capture and processing. Subsequent intelligence is sent back through satellite communications with unlimited range to a highly sophisticated central monitoring station. The system can "stakeout" remote locations clandestinely for 24 hours a day for months at a time. With its fully integrated SATCOM system, almost any site in the world can be monitored from virtually any other location in the world. Terrain Commander automatically detects and discriminates intruders by precisely cueing its advanced EO subsystem. The system provides target detection capabilities with minimal nuisance alarms combined with the positive visual identification that authorities demand before committing a response. Terrain Commander uses an advanced beamforming acoustic sensor and a distributed array of seismic, magnetic and passive infrared sensors to detect, capture images and accurately track vehicles and personnel. Terrain Commander has a number of emerging military and non-military applications including border control, physical security, homeland defense, force protection and intelligence gathering. This paper reviews the development, capabilities and mission applications of the Terrain Commander system.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the timeliness of reporting of malaria surveillancesystem and understanding the existing problems. Methods: The timeliness of malaria surveillancesystem of Iran was evaluated in four provinces of Iran including Sistan & Baluchistan, Hormozgan, Kerman (as provinces with local malaria transmission) and Khuzestan (without local malaria transmission). In this descriptive-analytic cross-sectional study two levels of Primary Health Care service providers including first level (Health Houses) and second level (Urban or Rural Health care units) were evaluated with regard to reporting of malaria surveillancesystem. Results: Forms number 1 (87% reported within one day) and number 2 (reporting median: 2 days) are reported from first level to second level, and forms number 4 (median: 4 days), number 3 (median: 6 days), number 7 (median: 9 days), number 5 (median: 11 days) and number 6 (median: 19 days) are reported from second level to the third level respectively in a shorter time. Independent variables such as distance, local malaria transmission level, and case finding type, are the factors affecting the reporting delay. Conclusion: Reporting in the first level compared to the second level is done with lower delay. In the areas where there is a deadline set for reporting, reporting is done more timely. Whatever number of malaria cases is decreased, sensitivity and subsequently timeliness reduced. It is recommended that the studies of timeliness be done with sensitivity and usefulness analysis of surveillancesystem. PMID:23515191

This System Specification establishes the requirements for the Plutonium Focus Area (PFA) Integrated Monitoring and SurveillanceSystem (IMSS). In this document, ``Integrated Monitoring and SurveillanceSystem`` is used to describe the concept of integrated sensors, computers, personnel, and systems that perform the functions of sensing conditions, acquiring data, monitoring environmental safety and health, controlling and accounting for materials, monitoring material stability, monitoring container integrity, transferring data, and analyzing, reporting, and storing data. This concept encompasses systems (e.g. sensors, personnel, databases, etc.) that are already in place at the sites but may require modifications or additions to meet all identified surveillance requirements. The purpose of this System Specification is to provide Department of Energy (DOE) sites that store plutonium materials with a consolidation of all known requirements for the storage and surveillance of 3013 packages of stabilized plutonium metals and oxides. This compilation may be used (1) as a baseline for surveillancesystem design specifications where 3013 packages of stabilized plutonium metals and oxides will be stored and monitored; (2) as a checklist for evaluating existing surveillancesystems to ensure that all requirements are met for the storage and surveillance of 3013 packages of stabilized plutonium metals and oxides; and (3) as a baseline for preparing procurement specifications tailored for site specific storage and surveillance of 3013 packages of stabilized plutonium metals and oxides.

The potential military role, both offensive and defensive, of a Satellite Power System (SPS) is examined. A number of potential military support possibilities are described. An SPS with military capabilities may have a strong negative impact on international relations if it is not internationalized. The SPS satellite would be vulnerable to military action of an enemy with good space capability, but would experience little or no threat from saboteurs or terrorists, except via the ground controls. The paper concludes with an outline of some of the key issues involved, and a number of recommendations for future study, including some areas for long term efforts.

Today's society places an extremely high price on the value of human life and injury. Whenever possible, police and paramilitary actions are always directed towards saving as many lives as possible, whether it is the officer, perpetrator, or innocent civilians. Recently, the advent of robotic systems has enable law enforcement agencies to perform many of the most dangerous aspects of their jobs from relative safety. This is especially true to bomb disposal units but it is also gaining acceptance in other areas. An area where small, remotely operated machines may prove effective is in local aerial surveillance. Currently, the only aerial surveillance assets generally available to law enforcement agencies are costly helicopters. Unfortunately, most of the recently developed unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are directed towards military applications and have limited civilian use. Systems Planning and Analysis, Inc. (SPA) has conceived and performed a preliminary analysis of a low-cost, inflatable, lighter- than-air surveillancesystem that may be used in a number of military and law enforcement surveillance situations. The preliminary analysis includes the concept definition, a detailed trade study to determine the optimal configuration of the surveillancesystem, high-pressure inflation tests, and a control analysis. This paper will provide the details in these areas of the design and provide an insight into the feasibility of such a system.

A low-cost, battery-operated surveillancesystem was developed for use in international nuclear safeguards. The resulting system utilizes components of the commercial Polavision instant movie system to provide single-frame color or black/white images which are automatically developed and displayed by a portable Polavision Player whenever it is desired to stop and view the film. The system is designed for long-term unattended use, triggered by a timer or other input signal. To provide positive assurance of continuing operation, a self-diagnostic module was designed to detect the most common failure modes and transmit real-time status data to a remote location. The resulting system provides a low-cost surveillance capability which may be useful in various law enforcement applications.

Antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli are a concern for military health services. We studied 100 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing and non-producing E. coli clinical and surveillance isolates from military personnel and civilians at Brooke Army Medical Center (2007-2011). Major E. coli lineages, most prominently ST10 (24%), ST131 (16%), and ST648 (8%), were distributed much as reported for other North American populations. ST131, represented mainly by its resistance-associated ST131-H30 clonal subset, was uniquely associated with a clinical origin, regardless of ESBL status. Thus, clonal background predicted resistance phenotype and clinical versus surveillance origin, and these findings could assist military clinicians and epidemiologists.

Small molecule drugs are the foundation of modern medical practice, yet their use is limited by the onset of unexpected and severe adverse events (AEs). Regulatory agencies rely on postmarketing surveillance to monitor safety once drugs are approved for clinical use. Despite advances in pharmacovigilance methods that address issues of confounding bias, clinical data of AEs are inherently noisy. Systems pharmacology-the integration of systems biology and chemical genomics-can illuminate drug mechanisms of action. We hypothesize that these data can improve drug safety surveillance by highlighting drugs with a mechanistic connection to the target phenotype (enriching true positives) and filtering those that do not (depleting false positives). We present an algorithm, the modular assembly of drug safety subnetworks (MADSS), to combine systems pharmacology and pharmacovigilance data and significantly improve drug safety monitoring for four clinically relevant adverse drug reactions.

Military global influenza surveillance began in 1976 as an Air Force program. In 1997, the Department of Defense (DoD) Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System expanded the program to include all services. Also included were local residents in areas where DoD overseas research activities operated. This new, worldwide DoD surveillance infrastructure provides valuable information and can respond quickly to outbreaks. This was demonstrated during the current influenza season when a suspected outbreak was reported in Panama. In less than 3 weeks, specimens were collected, transported, and cultured, and isolates were subtyped and sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further studies. This influenza surveillance initiative combines viral isolation, antigenic characterization, and molecular sequencing with clinical and public health management of information. The information obtained is shared with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization and has contributed to important decisions in influenza vaccine composition.

Introduction Effective disease surveillance is vital for a successful disaster response. This study assessed the functionality of the three disease surveillancesystems used post-Haiyan: Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (PIDSR), Event-based Surveillance and Response (ESR) and Surveillance in Post Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (SPEED). Methods A survey of 45 government health officers from affected areas was conducted in March 2014. The survey documented when each of the systems was operational and included questions that ranked the functionality of the three surveillancesystems and whether they complemented each other. Results Two of 11 (18%) surveillance units had an operational SPEED system pre-event. PIDSR and ESR remained operational in five of 11 (45%) surveillance units without interruption of reporting. Ten surveillance units (91%) rated PIDSR as functional post-Typhoon; eight (72.7%) considered ESR functional. SPEED was rated as functional by three (27%) surveillance units. Seven of 11 (63.6%) surveillance units rated the three systems as being complementary to each other. Discussion In most of the areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan, the routine surveillancesystems (PIDSR and ESR) were not disrupted; although, in Leyte it took seven weeks for these to be operational. Although SPEED is recommended for activation within 48 hours after a disaster, this did not occur in most of the surveyed areas. Most of the surveillance units rated PIDSR, ESR and SPEED to be complementary to each other. PMID:26767139

The Maritime Military Health submit to periodic medical examination civilian employees exposed to health risks and all military personnel. The latest, because of particular use in operational duties, as well as the characteristic of seafarers employed, undergoes an extensive medical protocol. In 2006 there were around 3200 access to the Service of Medicine Labor Navy Hospital in Augusta (SR). We wanted then to make a collection of data with purpose to highlight the diseases that most often affect the area of military jurisdiction. The illnesses were divided into two main groups: those who did not produce any result on the job because of insignificant impact functional, and those for which they have been taken to unfitness, temporary or permanent. From a statistical evaluation of the acquired data, it results that most affected systems are the skeletical, hematologic, psychic, ENT, heart, the Body Mass Index.

Intermodal container monitoring is considered a major security issue in many major logistic companies and countries worldwide. Current representation of the problem, we face today, originated in 2002, right after the 9/11 attacks. Then, a new worldwide Container Security Initiative (CSI, 2002) was considered that shaped the perception of the transportation operations. Now more than 80 larger ports all over the world contribute to its further development and integration into everyday transportation operations and improve the regulations for the developing regions. Although, these new improvements allow us to feel safer and secure, constant management of transportation operations has become a very difficult problem for conventional data analysis methods and information systems. The paper deals with a proposal of a whole new concept for the improvement of the Containers Security Initiative (CSI) by virtually connecting safety, security processes and systems. A conceptual middleware approach with deployable intelligent agent modules is proposed to be used with possible scenarios and a testbed is used to test the solution. Middleware examples are visually programmed using National Instruments LabView software packages and Wireless sensor network hardware modules. An experimental software is used to evaluate he solution. This research is a contribution to the intermodal transportation and is intended to be used as a means or the development of intelligent transport systems.

Up to now the IAEA's Safeguards Surveillance Program has been based upon 8 mm film camera systems. As this type of equipment availability is controlled by the needs of the amateur market, the Agency is forced to follow the changing world trend in replacing film with video. The eventual substitution of film with video systems should be influenced by two design approaches, namely integrated systems, resembling physically the present film cameras, and/or remote camera-control unit systems. This paper describes experiments being carried out on both types by some Member States as well as the Agency's activities in this field.

In China, sample-based mortality surveillancesystems, such as the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's disease surveillance points system and the Ministry of Health's vital registration system, have been used for decades to provide nationally representative data on health status for health-care decision-making and performance evaluation. However, neither system provided representative mortality and cause-of-death data at the provincial level to inform regional health service needs and policy priorities. Moreover, the systems overlapped to a considerable extent, thereby entailing a duplication of effort. In 2013, the Chinese Government combined these two systems into an integrated national mortality surveillancesystem to provide a provincially representative picture of total and cause-specific mortality and to accelerate the development of a comprehensive vital registration and mortality surveillancesystem for the whole country. This new system increased the surveillance population from 6 to 24% of the Chinese population. The number of surveillance points, each of which covered a district or county, increased from 161 to 605. To ensure representativeness at the provincial level, the 605 surveillance points were selected to cover China's 31 provinces using an iterative method involving multistage stratification that took into account the sociodemographic characteristics of the population. This paper describes the development and operation of the new national mortality surveillancesystem, which is expected to yield representative provincial estimates of mortality in China for the first time.

A method and system are disclosed for performing surveillance of transient signals of an industrial device to ascertain the operating state. The method and system involves the steps of reading into a memory training data, determining neural network weighting values until achieving target outputs close to the neural network output. If the target outputs are inadequate, wavelet parameters are determined to yield neural network outputs close to the desired set of target outputs and then providing signals characteristic of an industrial process and comparing the neural network output to the industrial process signals to evaluate the operating state of the industrial process. 33 figs.

A method and system for performing surveillance of transient signals of an industrial device to ascertain the operating state. The method and system involves the steps of reading into a memory training data, determining neural network weighting values until achieving target outputs close to the neural network output. If the target outputs are inadequate, wavelet parameters are determined to yield neural network outputs close to the desired set of target outputs and then providing signals characteristic of an industrial process and comparing the neural network output to the industrial process signals to evaluate the operating state of the industrial process.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be caused by life threatening illness, such as cancer and coronary events. The study by Forbes et al. made the unexpected finding that military personnel evacuation with medical illness have similar rates of PTSD to those evacuated with combat injuries. It may be that the illness acts as a nonspecific stressor that interacts with combat exposures to increase the risk of PTSD. Conversely, the inflammatory consequence of systemic illness may augment the effects to traumatic stress and facilitate the immunological abnormalities that are now being associated with PTSD and depression. The impact of the stress on cytokine systems and their role in the onset of PTSD demands further investigation. Military personnel evacuated due to physical illness require similar screening and monitoring for the risk of PTSD to those injured who are already known to be at high risk.

A holographic surveillancesystem is disclosed including means for generating electromagnetic waves; means for transmitting the electromagnetic waves toward a target at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; means for receiving and converting electromagnetic waves reflected from the target to electrical signals at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; means for processing the electrical signals to obtain signals corresponding to a holographic reconstruction of the target; and means for displaying the processed information to determine nature of the target. The means for processing the electrical signals includes means for converting analog signals to digital signals followed by a computer means to apply a backward wave algorithm. 21 figs.

A holographic surveillancesystem including means for generating electromagnetic waves; means for transmitting the electromagnetic waves toward a target at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; means for receiving and converting electromagnetic waves reflected from the target to electrical signals at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; means for processing the electrical signals to obtain signals corresponding to a holographic reconstruction of the target; and means for displaying the processed information to determine nature of the target. The means for processing the electrical signals includes means for converting analog signals to digital signals followed by a computer means to apply a backward wave algorithm.

A wideband holographic surveillancesystem including a transceiver for generating a plurality of electromagnetic waves; antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic waves toward a target at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; the transceiver also receiving and converting electromagnetic waves reflected from the target to electrical signals at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; a computer for processing the electrical signals to obtain signals corresponding to a holographic reconstruction of the target; and a display for displaying the processed information to determine nature of the target. The computer has instructions to apply a three dimensional backward wave algorithm. 28 figs.

A wideband holographic surveillancesystem including a transceiver for generating a plurality of electromagnetic waves; antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic waves toward a target at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; the transceiver also receiving and converting electromagnetic waves reflected from the target to electrical signals at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; a computer for processing the electrical signals to obtain signals corresponding to a holographic reconstruction of the target; and a display for displaying the processed information to determine nature of the target. The computer has instructions to apply a three dimensional backward wave algorithm.

Emerging infectious diseases present a complex challenge to public health officials and governments; these challenges have been compounded by rapidly shifting patterns of human behaviour and globalisation. The increase in emerging infectious diseases has led to calls for new technologies and approaches for detection, tracking, reporting, and response. Internet-based surveillancesystems offer a novel and developing means of monitoring conditions of public health concern, including emerging infectious diseases. We review studies that have exploited internet use and search trends to monitor two such diseases: influenza and dengue. Internet-based surveillancesystems have good congruence with traditional surveillance approaches. Additionally, internet-based approaches are logistically and economically appealing. However, they do not have the capacity to replace traditional surveillancesystems; they should not be viewed as an alternative, but rather an extension. Future research should focus on using data generated through internet-based surveillance and response systems to bolster the capacity of traditional surveillancesystems for emerging infectious diseases.

higher than that of average civilians with the same level of education . Enlisted and officer pay now ranks in the top quartile of all high school... higher yielding equities and bonds Findings 5 Findings (Continued) Military retirement is more generous and expensive compared to the...component of overall compensation. Other elements, such as current compensation, and other benefits (e.g. healthcare and education ) constitute the broad

Although much research effort has been directed toward refining algorithms for disease outbreak alerting, considerably less attention has been given to the response to alerts generated from statistical detection algorithms. Given the inherent inaccuracy in alerting, it is imperative to develop methods that help public health personnel identify optimal policies in response to alerts. This study evaluates the application of dynamic decision making models to the problem of responding to outbreak detection methods, using anthrax surveillance as an example. Adaptive optimization through approximate dynamic programming is used to generate a policy for decision making following outbreak detection. We investigate the degree to which the model can tolerate noise theoretically, in order to keep near optimal behavior. We also evaluate the policy from our model empirically and compare it with current approaches in routine public health practice for investigating alerts. Timeliness of outbreak confirmation and total costs associated with the decisions made are used as performance measures. Using our approach, on average, 80 per cent of outbreaks were confirmed prior to the fifth day of post-attack with considerably less cost compared to response strategies currently in use. Experimental results are also provided to illustrate the robustness of the adaptive optimization approach and to show the realization of the derived error bounds in practice.

Routine information systems for mental health in many Eastern Mediterranean Region countries are rudimentary or absent, making it difficult to understand the needs of local populations and to plan accordingly. Key components for mental health surveillance and information systems are: national commitment and leadership to ensure that relevant high quality information is collected and reported; a minimum data set of key mental health indicators; intersectoral collaboration with appropriate data sharing; routine data collection supplemented with periodic surveys; quality control and confidentiality; and technology and skills to support data collection, sharing and dissemination. Priority strategic interventions include: (1) periodically assessing and reporting the mental health resources and capacities available using standardized methodologies; (2) routine collection of information and reporting on service availability, coverage and continuity, for priority mental disorders disaggregated by age, sex and diagnosis; and (3) mandatory recording and reporting of suicides at the national level (using relevant ICD codes).

Traffic management can be thought of as a stochastic queuing process where the serving time at one of its control points is dynamically linked to the global traffic pattern, which is, in turn, dynamically linked to the control point. For this closed-loop system to be effective, the traffic management system must sense and interpret a large spatial projection of data originating from multiple sensor suites. This concept is the basis for the development of a Traffic Flow Wide-Area Surveillance (TFWAS) system. This paper presents the results of a study by Oak Ridge National Laboratory to define the operational specifications and characteristics, to determine the constraints, and to examine the state of technology of a TFWAS system in terms of traffic management and control. In doing so, the functions and attributes of a TFWAS system are mapped into an operational structure consistent with the Intelligent Vehicle Highway System (IVHS) concept and the existing highway infrastructure. This mapping includes identifying candidate sensor suites and establishing criteria, requirements, and performance measures by which these systems can be graded in their ability and practicality to meet the operational requirements of a TFWAS system. In light of this, issues such as system integration, applicable technologies, impact on traffic management and control, and public acceptance are addressed.

Mental health is a challenging public health issue worldwide and surveillance is crucial for it. However, mental health surveillance has not been developed until recently in certain developed countries; many other countries, especially developing countries, have poor or even no health information systems. This paper presents surveillance related to mental health in China, a developing country with a large population of patients with mental disorders. Detailed information of seven relevant surveillancesystems is introduced respectively. From the perspective of utilization, problems including accessibility, comprehensiveness and data quality are discussed. Suggestions for future development are proposed.

System and method for providing surveillance of an asset comprised of numerically fitting at least one mathematical model to obtained residual data correlative to asset operation; storing at least one mathematical model in a memory; obtaining a current set of signal data from the asset; retrieving at least one mathematical model from the memory, using the retrieved mathematical model in a sequential hypothesis test for determining if the current set of signal data is indicative of a fault condition; determining an asset fault cause correlative to a determined indication of a fault condition; providing an indication correlative to a determined fault cause, and an action when warranted. The residual data can be mode partitioned, a current mode of operation can be determined from the asset, and at least one mathematical model can be retrieved from the memory as a function of the determined mode of operation.

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) has the mission of performing surveillance for emerging infectious diseases that could affect the United States (U.S.) military. This mission is accomplished by orchestrating a global portfolio of surveillance projects, capacity-building efforts, outbreak investigations and training exercises. In 2009, this portfolio involved 39 funded partners, impacting 92 countries. This article discusses the current biosurveillance landscape, programmatic details of organization and implementation, and key contributions to force health protection and global public health in 2009. PMID:21388562

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) has the mission of performing surveillance for emerging infectious diseases that could affect the United States (U.S.) military. This mission is accomplished by orchestrating a global portfolio of surveillance projects, capacity-building efforts, outbreak investigations and training exercises. In 2009, this portfolio involved 39 funded partners, impacting 92 countries. This article discusses the current biosurveillance landscape, programmatic details of organization and implementation, and key contributions to force health protection and global public health in 2009.

Electronic Integrated Disease SurveillanceSystem (EIDSS) has been used to strengthen and support monitoring and prevention of dangerous diseases within One Health concept by integrating veterinary and human surveillance, passive and active approaches, case-based records including disease-specific clinical data based on standardised case definitions and aggregated data, laboratory data including sample tracking linked to each case and event with test results and epidemiological investigations. Information was collected and shared in secure way by different means: through the distributed nodes which are continuously synchronised amongst each other, through the web service, through the handheld devices. Electronic Integrated Disease SurveillanceSystem provided near real time information flow that has been then disseminated to the appropriate organisations in a timely manner. It has been used for comprehensive analysis and visualisation capabilities including real time mapping of case events as these unfold enhancing decision making. Electronic Integrated Disease SurveillanceSystem facilitated countries to comply with the IHR 2005 requirements through a data transfer module reporting diseases electronically to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data center as well as establish authorised data exchange with other electronic system using Open Architecture approach. Pathogen Asset Control System (PACS) has been used for accounting, management and control of biological agent stocks. Information on samples and strains of any kind throughout their entire lifecycle has been tracked in a comprehensive and flexible solution PACS.Both systems have been used in a combination and individually. Electronic Integrated Disease SurveillanceSystem and PACS are currently deployed in the Republics of Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan as a part of the Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) sponsored by the US Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA).

The Secure Video SurveillanceSystem (SVSS) is a collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials (ABACC). The joint project addresses specific requirements of redundant surveillancesystems installed in two South American nuclear facilities as a tool to support unannounced inspections conducted by ABACC and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The surveillance covers the critical time (as much as a few hours) between the notification of an inspection and the access of inspectors to the location in facility where surveillance equipment is installed. ABACC and the IAEA currently use the EURATOM Multiple Optical SurveillanceSystem (EMOSS). This outdated system is no longer available or supported by the manufacturer. The current EMOSS system has met the project objective; however, the lack of available replacement parts and system support has made this system unsustainable and has increased the risk of an inoperable system. A new system that utilizes current technology and is maintainable is required to replace the aging EMOSS system. ABACC intends to replace one of the existing ABACC EMOSS systems by the Secure Video SurveillanceSystem. SVSS utilizes commercial off-the shelf (COTS) technologies for all individual components. Sandia National Laboratories supported the system design for SVSS to meet Safeguards requirements, i.e. tamper indication, data authentication, etc. The SVSS consists of two video surveillance cameras linked securely to a data collection unit. The collection unit is capable of retaining historical surveillance data for at least three hours with picture intervals as short as 1sec. Images in .jpg format are available to inspectors using various software review tools. SNL has delivered two SVSS systems for test and evaluation at the ABACC Safeguards Laboratory. An additional 'proto-type' system remains

Malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya virus, leishmaniasis, and a myriad of other vector-borne diseases pose significant threats to the warfighter and to the overall combat effectiveness of units. Military preventive medicine (PM) assets must accurately evaluate the vector-borne disease threat and then implement and/or advise the commander on countermeasures to reduce a particular threat. The success of these measures is contingent upon the biology of the disease vector and on the tools or methods used to conduct vector/pathogen surveillance and vector control. There is a significant gap between the tools available and those required for operational PM assets to provide real-time, effective surveillance and control. A network of US Army and US Navy overseas laboratories is focused on closing the current capabilities gap. Their mission is to develop and field test tools and methods to enhance the combatant commander's ability to identify and mitigate the threat posed by these vector-borne diseases.

Legionellosis is an infection caused by exposure to mist or vapor contaminated with Legionella bacteria. During the 16-year surveillance period, 73 cases of legionellosis were identified in active component service members; 37 were identified among the reserve component; and 1,044 were identified among all other beneficiaries of the Military Health System (MHS). Of the total 1,154 cases of legionellosis, 11 percent (n=126) were confirmed cases (i.e., reportable medical events); 52 percent (n=599) were probable cases (i.e., hospitalizations); and 37 percent (n=429) were suspected cases (i.e., ambulatory visits). Most of the cases (59%) were identified in individuals aged 60 years and older. The annual number of cases increased during the surveillance period and demonstrated a seasonal trend with more cases occurring in the summer and early fall. Recent trends in the incidence of legionellosis among MHS beneficiaries and civilian populations in the United States highlight the importance of correctly identifying the etiologic agents of bacterial pneumonia and submitting reports of cases of legionellosis through the appropriate reporting system.

The Farafenni Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (Farafenni HDSS) is located 170 km from the coast in a rural area of The Gambia, north of the River Gambia. It was set up in 1981 by the UK Medical Research Council Laboratories to generate demographic and health information required for the evaluation of a village-based, primary health care programme in 40 villages. Regular updates of demographic events and residency status have subsequently been conducted every 4 months. The surveillance area was extended in 2002 to include Farafenni Town and surrounding villages to support randomized, controlled trials. With over three decades of prospective surveillance, and through specific scientific investigations, the platform (population ≈ 50,000) has generated data on: morbidity and mortality due to malaria in children and during pregnancy; non-communicable disease among adults; reproductive health; and levels and trends in childhood and maternal mortality. Other information routinely collected includes causes of death through verbal autopsy, and household socioeconomic indicators. The current portfolio of the platform includes tracking Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG4) attainments in rural Gambia and cause-of-death determination.

This document is the primary document establishing requirements for the Surveillance Analysis Computer System (SACS) Database, an Impact Level 3Q system. The purpose is to provide the customer and the performing organization with the requirements for the SACS Project.

The Boston Public Health Commission developed and implemented an active surveillancesystem for bioterrorism and other infectious disease emergencies. A bioterrorism Surveillance Task Force was formed with representatives from local emergency medicine, infection control, infectious diseases, public health, and emergency medical services. These local agencies worked together to develop a reliable, easy to use electronic surveillancesystem. Collaboration at the local level and building on existing relationships is a key component of this system. Effective follow-up systems and technology back-up plans are essential. Improved communication networks and increased bioterrorism education for clinicians and the general public have also been achieved.

Systems biology ('omics) technologies are emerging as tools for the comprehensive analysis and monitoring of human health. In order for these tools to be used in military medicine, clinical sampling and biobanking will need to be optimized to be compatible with downstream processing and analysis for each class of molecule measured. This article provides an overview of 'omics technologies, including instrumentation, tools, and methods, and their potential application for warfighter exposure monitoring. We discuss the current state and the potential utility of personalized data from a variety of 'omics sources including genomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, lipidomics, and efforts to combine their use. Issues in the "sample-to-answer" workflow, including collection and biobanking are discussed, as well as national efforts for standardization and clinical interpretation. Establishment of these emerging capabilities, along with accurate xenobiotic monitoring, for the Department of Defense could provide new and effective tools for environmental health monitoring at all duty stations, including deployed locations.

We present the REWARD project, financed within the FP7 programme, theme SEC-2011.1.5-1 (Development of detection capabilities of difficult to detect radioactive sources and nuclear materials - Capability Project). Within this project, we propose a novel mobile system for real time, wide area radiation surveillance. The system is based on the integration of new miniaturized solid-state radiation sensors: a CdZnTe detector for gamma radiation and a high efficiency neutron detector based on novel silicon technologies. The sensing unit will include a wireless communication interface to send the data remotely to a monitoring base station which also uses a GPS system to calculate the position of the tag. The system will also incorporate middleware and high level software to provide web-service interfaces for the exchange of information, and that will offer top level functionalities as management of users, mobile tags and environment data and alarms, database storage and management and a web-based graphical user interface. Effort will be spent to ensure that the software is modular and re-usable across as many architectural levels as possible. Finally, an expert system will continuously analyze the information from the radiation sensor and correlate it with historical data from the tag location in order to generate an alarm when an abnormal situation is detected. The system will be useful for many different scenarios, including such lost radioactive sources and radioactive contamination. It will be possible to deploy in emergency units and in general in any type of mobile or static equipment. The sensing units will be highly portable thanks to their low size and low energy consumption. The complete system will be scalable in terms of complexity and cost and will offer very high precision on both the measurement and the location of the radiation. The modularity and flexibility of the system will allow for a realistic introduction to the market. Authorities may start with a

Post-marketing drug surveillance for adverse drug events (ADEs) has typically relied on spontaneous reporting. Recently, regulatory agencies have turned their attention to more preemptive approaches that use existing data for surveillance. We conducted an environmental scan to identify active surveillancesystems worldwide that use existing data for the detection of ADEs. We extracted data about the systems' structures, data, and functions. We synthesized the information across systems to identify common features of these systems. We identified nine active surveillancesystems. Two systems are US based-the FDA Sentinel Initiative (including both the Mini-Sentinel Initiative and the Federal Partner Collaboration) and the Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD); two are Canadian-the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES) and the Vaccine and Immunization Surveillance in Ontario (VISION); and two are European-the Exploring and Understanding Adverse Drug Reactions by Integrative Mining of Clinical Records and Biomedical Knowledge (EU-ADR) Alliance and the Vaccine Adverse Event Surveillance and Communication (VAESCO). Additionally, there is the Asian Pharmacoepidemiology Network (AsPEN) and the Shanghai Drug Monitoring and Evaluative System (SDMES). We identified two systems in the UK-the Vigilance and Risk Management of Medicines (VRMM) Division and the Drug Safety Research Unit (DSRU), an independent academic unit. These surveillancesystems mostly use administrative claims or electronic medical records; most conduct pharmacovigilance on behalf of a regulatory agency. Either a common data model or a centralized model is used to access existing data. The systems have been built using national data alone or via partnership with other countries. However, active surveillancesystems using existing data remain rare. North America and Europe have the most population coverage; with Asian countries making good advances.

Pertussis ("whooping cough") is a highly infectious respiratory disease caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. Individuals at highest risk are infants and unvaccinated children; however, there have been recent increases in incidence among adolescent and young adult populations in the United States. During the surveillance period, there were 476 confirmed and 3,073 probable cases of pertussis among U.S. military members and other beneficiaries of the U.S. Military Health System. Among service members there were 77 and 13 confirmed cases in active and reserve component members, respectively. In comparison, infants and children aged 15 years and younger accounted for over half of all confirmed cases (n=244). Several spatiotemporal clusters of pertussis among military healthcare beneficiaries were associated with outbreaks in adjacent non-military communities, particularly in five states (California, Texas, Florida, Washington, and New York); one cluster occurred in a military community in Okinawa, Japan.

The article presents main directions of activities of the medical service, dealing with implementation of personal electronic cards for military personnel, organizing the process of automation of medical service management, military and medical organizations and health care departments. The given article, reveals the on-going activity, concerning creation of the military-medical information system, which will unite all medical units, organizations, and governments into one information space.

Software is a key component in nearly every critical system used by the Department of Defense. Attacking the software in a system- cyber warfare - is a...revolutionary method of pursuing war. This article describes various cyber warfare approaches and suggests methods to counter them.

The National Electronic Disease SurveillanceSystem (NEDSS) is a web-based infrastructure for public health surveillance data exchange between CDC and the 50 states. In 2007, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) conducted an assessment to evaluate states' electronic disease surveillance capacity. In 2010, CSTE conducted a follow-up assessment to evaluate the operational status and progress of integration, interoperability, and capacity of state electronic disease surveillancesystems. This report summarizes the results of that assessment, which indicated a 17.5% increase from 40 states in 2007 to 47 states in 2010 with fully operational general communicable disease (GCD) electronic surveillancesystems, a 211.5% increase from 13 to 39 states in the number of systems that were interoperable, a 22.4% increase from 23 to 34 states in the number with integrated systems, and a 20.0% increase to 42 states with the capacity to receive electronic laboratory reports (ELRs). New Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services rules for meaningful use of health information technology encourage data exchange between electronic health record systems and public health agencies, including submission of ELRs. To meet national goals for health information exchange to improve population health, variation in disease surveillancesystems should decrease, and functionality should increase.

The Rufiji Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (HDSS) was established in October 1998 to evaluate the impact on burden of disease of health system reforms based on locally generated data, prioritization, resource allocation and planning for essential health interventions. The Rufiji HDSS collects detailed information on health and survival and provides a framework for population-based health research of relevance to local and national health priorities.In December 2012 the population under surveillance was about 105,503 people, residing in 19,315 households. Monitoring of households and members within households is undertaken in regular 6-month cycles known as 'rounds'. Self reported information is collected on demographic, household, socioeconomic and geographical characteristics. Verbal autopsy is conducted using standardized questionnaires, to determine probable causes of death. In conjunction with core HDSS activities, the ongoing studies in Rufiji HDSS focus on maternal and new-born health, evaluation of safety of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) exposure in early pregnancy and the clinical safety of a fixed dose of dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PQP) in the community. Findings of studies conducted in Rufiji HDSS can be accessed at www.ihi.or.tz/IHI-Digital-Library.

Driven by the growing importance of situational awareness of bioterrorism threats, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States have constructed a joint military capability, called the Biosurveillance Portal (BSP), to enhance biosecurity. As one component of the BSP, we developed the Military Active Real-time Syndromic Surveillance (MARSS) system to detect and track natural and deliberate disease outbreaks. This article describes the ROK military health data infrastructure and explains how syndromic data are derived and made available to epidemiologists. Queries corresponding to 8 syndromes, based on published clinical effects of weaponized pathogens, were used to classify military hospital patient records to form aggregated daily syndromic counts. A set of ICD-10 codes for each syndrome was defined through literature review and expert panel discussion. A study set of time series of national daily counts for each syndrome was extracted from the Defense Medical Statistical Information System between January 1, 2011, and May 31, 2014. A stratified, adjusted cumulative summation algorithm was implemented for each syndrome group to signal alerts prompting investigation. The algorithm was developed by calculating sensitivity to sets of 1,000 artificial outbreak signals randomly injected in the dataset, with each signal injected in a separate trial. Queries and visualizations were adapted from the Suite for Automated Global bioSurveillance. Findings indicated that early warning of outbreaks affecting fewer than 50 patients will require analysis at subnational levels, especially for common syndrome groups. Developing MARSS to improve sensitivity will require modification of underlying syndromic diagnosis codes, engineering to coordinate alerts among subdivisions, and enhanced algorithms. The bioterrorist threat in the Korean peninsula mandates these efforts.

Environmental pollution is a growing problem that negatively impacts health with social and economic high costs. In this sense, coordinated surveillance of conditions, risks, exposures and health effects related to pollution is a useful tool to guide decision-making processes. The objective of this essay was to describe a surveillancesystem for environmental contaminants in Colombia and its design background. Using the technical guidelines proposed by the Pan American Health Organization, a literature review was conducted to identify the key elements to be included in such surveillancesystem and to establish which of these elements were already present in the Colombian context. Moreover, these findings were compared with successful experiences in Latin America. The surveillancesystem includes five components: Epidemiological, environmental and biological surveillance, clinical monitoring and recommendations to guide policies or interventions. The key factors for a successful surveillancesystem are: interdisciplinary and inter-sector work, clear definition of functions, activities, data sources and information flow. The implementation of the system will be efficient if the structures and tools existing in each country are taken into account. The most important stakeholders are inter-sector public health and environmental commissions and government institutions working in research and surveillance issues related to health, sanitation, environment, drugs and food regulation and control. In conclusion, Colombia has the technical resources and a normative framework to design and implement the surveillancesystem. However, stakeholders´ coordination is essential to ensure the efficacy of the system so it may guide the implementation of cost-effective actions in environmental health.

Because many infectious diseases are emerging in animals in low-income and middle-income countries, surveillance of animal health in these areas may be needed for forecasting disease risks to humans. We present an overview of a mobile phone–based frontline surveillancesystem developed and implemented in Sri Lanka. Field veterinarians reported animal health information by using mobile phones. Submissions increased steadily over 9 months, with ≈4,000 interactions between field veterinarians and reports on the animal population received by the system. Development of human resources and increased communication between local stakeholders (groups and persons whose actions are affected by emerging infectious diseases and animal health) were instrumental for successful implementation. The primary lesson learned was that mobile phone–based surveillance of animal populations is acceptable and feasible in lower-resource settings. However, any system implementation plan must consider the time needed to garner support for novel surveillance methods among users and stakeholders. PMID:20875276

This paper presents data modeling and query processing for distributed surveillancesystems. We define a metadata rule to search and manage information for distributed or heterogeneous surveillancesystems. For human activity recognition, we propose a method that classifies these actions separately from complicated activities as a sequence of basic activities. In addition, we define the domain and range of relations based on the relationship between elements. Furthermore, we describe the state descriptors to represent an image sequence. To address the interaction of multiple objects, we classify human actions into symmetric or asymmetric actions. The prior motion model and the inference approach are applied adaptively according to environments. We define the grammar for the representation of the surveillance video and specify different query criteria for surveillance video retrieval. In the experiments, we show the prototype system that provides event detection, object identification, object tracking, face recognition, and activity recognition.

Abram Bergson , Productivity and the Social System-The USSR and the West, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978, for a detailed examination of...relative productivity and efficiency in the Soviet Union, the United States, and the West. An extension of that analysis is presented in Abram Bergson

The kerosene tank pressurization , valves, and solenoids require extra maintenance actions because of the helium usage. Advanced System for Feed...cylindrical one for the same surface area, volume and/or pressure . However, for the axisymmetric vehicle, the fuel tanks will be mostly conical... pressure vessels. The best way to design these tanks , and how they compare to cylindrical rocket tanks , is a current area of investigation. For the

The Nairobi Urban Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (NUHDSS) was the first urban-based longitudinal health and demographic surveillance platform in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The NUHDSS was established in 2002 to provide a platform to investigate the long-term social, economic and health consequences of urban residence, and to serve as a primary research tool for intervention and impact evaluation studies focusing on the needs of the urban poor in SSA. Since its inception, the NUHDSS has successfully followed every year a population of about 65,000 individuals in 24,000 households in two slum communities--Korogocho and Viwandani--in Nairobi, Kenya. Data collected include key demographic and health information (births, deaths including verbal autopsy, in- and out-migration, immunization) and other information that characterizes living conditions in the slums (livelihood opportunities, household amenities and possessions, type of housing etc.). In addition to the routine data, it has provided a robust platform for nesting several studies examining the challenges of rapid urbanization in SSA and associated health and poverty dynamics. NUHDSS data are shared through internal and external collaborations, in accordance with the Centre's guidelines for publications, data sharing.

This study is about integration and evaluation of RFID and ubiquitous technologies in military logistic system management. Firstly, supply chain management and the necessity of a revolution in logistic systems especially in military area, are explained. Secondly RFID and ubiquitous technologies and the advantages of their use in supply chain management are introduced. Lastly a system based on these technologies for controlling and increasing the speed and accuracy in military logistic system in Iran with its unique properties, is presented. The system is based on full control of military logistics (supplies) from the time of deployment to replenishment using sensor network, ubiquitous and RFID technologies.

Background Tuberculosis is highly prevalent in many Arctic areas. Members of the International Circumpolar Surveillance Tuberculosis (ICS-TB) Working Group collaborate to increase knowledge about tuberculosis in Arctic regions. Objective To establish baseline knowledge of tuberculosis surveillancesystems used by ICS-TB member jurisdictions. Design Three questionnaires were developed to reflect the different surveillance levels (local, regional and national); all 3 were forwarded to the official representative of each of the 15 ICS-TB member jurisdictions in 2013. Respondents self-identified the level of surveillance conducted in their region and completed the applicable questionnaire. Information collected included surveillancesystem objectives, case definitions, data collection methodology, storage and dissemination. Results Thirteen ICS-TB jurisdictions [Canada (Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavik, Nunavut, Yukon), Finland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Russian Federation (Arkhangelsk, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, Yakutia (Sakha Republic), United States (Alaska)] voluntarily completed the survey – representing 2 local, 7 regional and 4 national levels. Tuberculosis reporting is mandatory in all jurisdictions, and case definitions are comparable across regions. The common objectives across systems are to detect outbreaks, and inform the evaluation/planning of public health programmes and policies. All jurisdictions collect data on confirmed active tuberculosis cases and treatment outcomes; 11 collect contact tracing results. Faxing of standardized case reporting forms is the most common reporting method. Similar core data elements are collected; 8 regions report genotyping results. Data are stored using customized programmes (n=7) and commercial software (n=6). Nine jurisdictions provide monthly, bi-annual or annual reports to principally government and/or scientific/medical audiences. Conclusion This review successfully establishes baseline knowledge

Bourgeois, Annie-Claude; Zulz, Tammy; Soborg, Bolette; Koch, Anders; On Behalf Of The International Circumpolar Surveillance-Tuberculosis Working Group

2016-01-01

Background Tuberculosis is highly prevalent in many Arctic areas. Members of the International Circumpolar Surveillance Tuberculosis (ICS-TB) Working Group collaborate to increase knowledge about tuberculosis in Arctic regions. Objective To establish baseline knowledge of tuberculosis surveillancesystems used by ICS-TB member jurisdictions. Design Three questionnaires were developed to reflect the different surveillance levels (local, regional and national); all 3 were forwarded to the official representative of each of the 15 ICS-TB member jurisdictions in 2013. Respondents self-identified the level of surveillance conducted in their region and completed the applicable questionnaire. Information collected included surveillancesystem objectives, case definitions, data collection methodology, storage and dissemination. Results Thirteen ICS-TB jurisdictions [Canada (Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nunavik, Nunavut, Yukon), Finland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Russian Federation (Arkhangelsk, Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, Yakutia (Sakha Republic), United States (Alaska)] voluntarily completed the survey - representing 2 local, 7 regional and 4 national levels. Tuberculosis reporting is mandatory in all jurisdictions, and case definitions are comparable across regions. The common objectives across systems are to detect outbreaks, and inform the evaluation/planning of public health programmes and policies. All jurisdictions collect data on confirmed active tuberculosis cases and treatment outcomes; 11 collect contact tracing results. Faxing of standardized case reporting forms is the most common reporting method. Similar core data elements are collected; 8 regions report genotyping results. Data are stored using customized programmes (n=7) and commercial software (n=6). Nine jurisdictions provide monthly, bi-annual or annual reports to principally government and/or scientific/medical audiences. Conclusion This review successfully establishes baseline knowledge on

Abstract. Presently, global efforts are being made to control and eradicate the deadliest tropical diseases through the improvement of adequate interventions. A critical point for programs to succeed is the prompt and accurate diagnosis in endemic regions. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) are being massively deployed and used to improve diagnosis in tropical countries. In the present report, we evaluated the hypothesis of, after use for diagnosis, the reuse of the Leishmania RDT kit as a DNA source, which can be used downstream as a molecular surveillance and/or quality control tool. As a proof of principle, a polymerase chain reaction-based method was used to detect Leishmania spp. minicircle kinetoplast DNA from leishmaniasis RDT kits. Our results show that Leishmania spp. DNA can be extracted from used RDTs and may constitute an important, reliable, and affordable tool to assist in future leishmaniasis molecular surveillance methods. PMID:24752687

Sport is beneficial to health, but may also cause injuries. Therefore there is a need for sports injury prevention. Sports injury prevention should be based on the outcome of scientific research and should be part of the 'sequence of prevention'. In applying the 'sequence of prevention', first the incidence and severity of the sports injury problem need to be established. Secondly the aetiology and the mechanism of sports injuries need to be identified. Only based on this information can preventative measures be introduced, which must subsequently be evaluated for effectiveness. The principle of the 'sequence of prevention' cannot be applied without proper sports injury surveillance. This paper addresses the question of whether one uniform sports injury surveillancesystem can be used to cover all aspects of sports injury research at all stages of the 'sequence of prevention'. It is argued that a general sports injury surveillancesystem is useful for answering questions about the incidence and severity of the sports injury problem in various subsets of a population. It can also be used for time trend studies. If the purpose of injury surveillance is to identify the aetiology or the effectiveness of preventative measures, then sports injury surveillance should be tailored to the specific sports situation. Sports injury surveillancesystems are not useful in identifying the mechanism of injury.

Notes that U.S. military policies emphasize humanitarian approach to issue of suicide, yet military law may view suicidal behavior as deviant and may prosecute suicide attempters. Cites convictions of soldiers for attempted and assisted suicides. Reviews recent court decisions and suggests revisions in military law. (Author/NB)

... bandwidth of an imaging system operating under the provisions of this section must be contained between 1990... surveillancesystems operated by law enforcement, fire or emergency rescue organizations or by manufacturers... the procedures described in § 15.521. (f) Imaging systems operating under the provisions of...

The military has a well-defined population with suicide prevention programs that have been recognized as possible models for civilian suicide prevention efforts. Monitoring prevention programs requires accurate reporting. In civilian settings, several studies have confirmed problems in the reporting and classification of suicides. This analysis…

Training is a key component of building capacity for public health surveillance and response, but has often been difficult to quantify. During fiscal 2009, the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (AFHSC-GEIS) supported 18 partner organizations in conducting 123 training initiatives in 40 countries for 3,130 U.S. military, civilian and host-country personnel. The training assisted with supporting compliance with International Health Regulations, IHR (2005). Training activities in pandemic preparedness, outbreak investigation and response, emerging infectious disease (EID) surveillance and pathogen diagnostic techniques were expanded significantly. By engaging local health and other government officials and civilian institutions, the U.S. military’s role as a key stakeholder in global public health has been strengthened and has contributed to EID-related surveillance, research and capacity-building initiatives specified elsewhere in this issue. Public health and emerging infections surveillance training accomplished by AFHSC-GEIS and its Department of Defense (DoD) partners during fiscal 2009 will be tabulated and described. PMID:21388565

Military boxing, a kind of Chinese martial arts, is widespread and health beneficial. In this paper, the authors introduce a military boxing learning system realized by 3D motion capture, Web3D and 3D interactive technologies. The interactions with the system are natural and intuitive. Users can observe and learn the details of each action of the…

Robust and responsive surveillancesystems are critical for malaria elimination. The ideal information system that supports malaria elimination includes: rapid and complete case reporting, incorporation of related data, such as census or health survey information, central data storage and management, automated and expert data analysis, and customized outputs and feedback that lead to timely and targeted responses. Spatial information enhances such a system, ensuring cases are tracked and mapped over time. Data sharing and coordination across borders are vital and new technologies can improve data speed, accuracy, and quality. Parts of this ideal information system exist and are in use, but have yet to be linked together coherently. Malaria elimination programs should support the implementation and refinement of information systems to support surveillance and response and ensure political and financial commitment to maintain the systems and the human resources needed to run them. National malaria programs should strive to improve the access and utility of these information systems and establish cross-border data sharing mechanisms through the use of standard indicators for malaria surveillance. Ultimately, investment in the information technologies that support a timely and targeted surveillance and response system is essential for malaria elimination. PMID:26013378

... surveillancesystems operated by law enforcement, fire or emergency rescue organizations or by manufacturers... 90 of this chapter. (2) The operation of imaging systems under this section requires coordination, as... of this device is restricted to law enforcement, fire and rescue officials, public utilities,...

... surveillancesystems operated by law enforcement, fire or emergency rescue organizations or by manufacturers... 90 of this chapter. (2) The operation of imaging systems under this section requires coordination, as... of this device is restricted to law enforcement, fire and rescue officials, public utilities,...

... surveillancesystems operated by law enforcement, fire or emergency rescue organizations or by manufacturers... 90 of this chapter. (2) The operation of imaging systems under this section requires coordination, as... of this device is restricted to law enforcement, fire and rescue officials, public utilities,...

... surveillancesystems operated by law enforcement, fire or emergency rescue organizations or by manufacturers... 90 of this chapter. (2) The operation of imaging systems under this section requires coordination, as... of this device is restricted to law enforcement, fire and rescue officials, public utilities,...

Robust and responsive surveillancesystems are critical for malaria elimination. The ideal information system that supports malaria elimination includes: rapid and complete case reporting, incorporation of related data, such as census or health survey information, central data storage and management, automated and expert data analysis, and customized outputs and feedback that lead to timely and targeted responses. Spatial information enhances such a system, ensuring cases are tracked and mapped over time. Data sharing and coordination across borders are vital and new technologies can improve data speed, accuracy, and quality. Parts of this ideal information system exist and are in use, but have yet to be linked together coherently. Malaria elimination programs should support the implementation and refinement of information systems to support surveillance and response and ensure political and financial commitment to maintain the systems and the human resources needed to run them. National malaria programs should strive to improve the access and utility of these information systems and establish cross-border data sharing mechanisms through the use of standard indicators for malaria surveillance. Ultimately, investment in the information technologies that support a timely and targeted surveillance and response system is essential for malaria elimination.

Malaria, a life-threatening infectious disease, spreads rapidly via parasites. Malaria prevention is more effective and efficient than treatment. However, the existing surveillancesystems used to prevent malaria are inadequate, especially in areas with limited or no access to medical resources. In this paper, in order to monitor the spreading of malaria, we develop an intelligent surveillancesystem based on our existing algorithms. First, a visualization function and active surveillance were implemented in order to predict and categorize areas at high risk of infection. Next, socioeconomic and climatological characteristics were applied to the proposed prediction model. Then, the redundancy of the socioeconomic attribute values was reduced using the stepwise regression method to improve the accuracy of the proposed prediction model. The experimental results indicated that the proposed IASM predicted malaria outbreaks more close to the real data and with fewer variables than other models. Furthermore, the proposed model effectively identified areas at high risk of infection. PMID:27563343

A wireless sensor network (WSN) is a powerful unattended distributed measurement system, which is widely used in target surveillance because of its outstanding performance in distributed sensing and signal processing. This paper introduces a multiview visual-target-surveillancesystem in WSN, which can autonomously implement target classification and tracking with collaborative online learning and localization. The proposed system is a hybrid system of single-node and multinode fusion. It is constructed on a peer-to-peer (P2P)-based computing paradigm and consists of some simple but feasible methods for target detection and feature extraction. Importantly, a support-vector-machine-based semisupervised learning method is used to achieve online classifier learning with only unlabeled samples. To reduce the energy consumption and increase the accuracy, a novel progressive data-fusion paradigm is proposed for online learning and localization, where a feasible routing method is adopted to implement information transmission with the tradeoff between performance and cost. Experiment results verify that the proposed surveillancesystem is an effective, energy-efficient, and robust system for real-world application. Furthermore, the P2P-based progressive data-fusion paradigm can improve the energy efficiency and robustness of target surveillance.

Accessibility is today's space frontier. Our need for wide-band global communications, earth imaging an sensing, atmospheric measurements and military reconnaissance is endless but growing dependence on space-based systems raises concerns about potential vulnerability. Military commanders want space assets more accessible and under direct local control. As a result, a robust and low cost access to space-like capability has become a national priority. Buoyant vehicles, free floating in the middle stratosphere could provide the kind of cost effective access to space-like capability needed for a verity of missions. These vehicles are inexpensive, invisible and easily launched. Developments in payload electronics, atmospheric wind modeling and materials combined with ever-improving communications and navigation infrastructure are making balloon-borne concepts more attractive. The fundamental question is whether a free floating balloon, used in a pseudo-satellite role, has value in a militarysystem. Flight tests are ongoing under NASA sponsorship. Following these tests NASA intends to use the vehicles for research in the Antarctic. The concept is being reviewed by other agencies interested in stratospheric research. We believe that LDFFF systems have applications in areas of communications, surveillance and other traditional satellite missions. Dialogue with the broader community of space users is needed to expand the applications. This report reviews the status of the recent flight tests and presents an overview of the concept of Long Duration Free Floating Flight for military applications. 12 refs., 13 figs.

The Magu Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (Magu HDSS) is part of Kisesa OpenCohort HIV Study located in a rural area of North-Western Tanzania. Since its establishment in 1994, information on pregnancies, births, marriages, migrations and deaths have been monitored and updated between one and three times a year by trained fieldworkers. Other research activities implemented in the cohort include: sero surveys which have been conducted every 2–3 years to collect socioeconomic data, HIV sero status and health knowledge attitude and behaviour in adults aged 15 years or more living in the area; verbal autopsy (VA) interviews conducted to establish cause of death in all deaths encountered in the area; Llnking data collected at health facilities to community-based data; monitoring voluntary counselling and testing (VCT); and assessing uptake of antiretroviral treatment (ART). In addition, within the community, qualitative studies have been conducted to address issues linked to HIV stigma, the perception of ART access and adherence. In 2014, the population was over 35 000 individuals. Magu HDSS has contributed to Tanzanian estimates of fertility and mortality, and is a member of the INDEPTH network. Demographic data for Magu HDSS are available via the INDEPTH Network’s Sharing and Accessing Repository (iSHARE) and applications to access HDSS data for collaborative analysis are encouraged. PMID:26403815

The Muzaffarpur-TMRC Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (HDSS), established in 2007, was developed as an enlargement of the scope of a research collaboration on the project Visceral Leishmaniasis in Bihar, which had been ongoing since 2005. The HDSS is located in a visceral leishmaniasis (VL)-endemic area in the Muzaffarpur district of Bihar state in India. It is the only HDSS conducting research on VL, which is a vector-borne infectious disease transmitted by female phlebotomine sandflies and is fatal if left untreated. Currently the HDSS serves a population of over 105 000 in 66 villages. The HDSS collects data on vital events including pregnancies, births, deaths, migration and marriages, as well as other socio-economic indicators, at regular intervals. Incident VL cases are identified. The HDSS team is experienced in conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies, sample collection and rapid diagnostic tests in the field. In each village, volunteers connect the HDSS team with the community members. The Muzaffarpur-TMRC HDSS provides opportunities for studies on VL and other neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and their interaction with demographic events such as migration. Queries related to research collaborations and data sharing can be sent to Dr Shyam Sundar at [drshyamsundar@hotmail.com]. PMID:25186307

The Nahuche Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (HDSS) study site, established in 2009 with 137 823 individuals is located in Zamfara State, north western Nigeria. North-West Nigeria is a region with one of the worst maternal and child health indicators in Nigeria. For example, the 2013 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey estimated an under-five mortality rate of 185 deaths per 1000 live births for the north-west geo-political zone compared with a national average of 128 deaths per 1000 live births. The site comprises over 100 villages under the leadership of six district heads. Virtually all the residents of the catchment population are Hausa by ethnicity. After a baseline census in 2010, regular update rounds of data collection are conducted every 6 months. Data collection on births, deaths, migration events, pregnancies, marriages and marriage termination events are routinely conducted. Verbal autopsy (VA) data are collected on all deaths reported during routine data collection. Annual update data on antenatal care and household characteristics are also collected. Opportunities for collaborations are available at Nahuche HDSS. The Director of Nahuche HDSS, M.O. Oche at [ochedr@hotmail.com] is the contact person for all forms of collaboration.

The Magu Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (Magu HDSS) is part of Kisesa OpenCohort HIV Study located in a rural area of North-Western Tanzania. Since its establishment in 1994, information on pregnancies, births, marriages, migrations and deaths have been monitored and updated between one and three times a year by trained fieldworkers. Other research activities implemented in the cohort include: sero surveys which have been conducted every 2-3 years to collect socioeconomic data, HIV sero status and health knowledge attitude and behaviour in adults aged 15 years or more living in the area; verbal autopsy (VA) interviews conducted to establish cause of death in all deaths encountered in the area; Llnking data collected at health facilities to community-based data; monitoring voluntary counselling and testing (VCT); and assessing uptake of antiretroviral treatment (ART). In addition, within the community, qualitative studies have been conducted to address issues linked to HIV stigma, the perception of ART access and adherence.In 2014, the population was over 35 000 individuals. Magu HDSS has contributed to Tanzanian estimates of fertility and mortality, and is a member of the INDEPTH network. Demographic data for Magu HDSS are available via the INDEPTH Network's Sharing and Accessing Repository (iSHARE) and applications to access HDSS data for collaborative analysis are encouraged.

"Nutrition Counts," the pediatric portion of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's (MDPH) Nutrition SurveillanceSystem, monitors and describes aspects of nutritional status among groups of young children in the state. This report presents cross-sectional data describing 5,176 infants and young children in Massachusetts. Of…

Conventional optical video surveillancesystems usually just record what they view, but they can't make sense of what they are viewing. With lots of useless video information stored and transmitted, waste of memory space and increasing the bandwidth are produced every day. In order to reduce the overall cost of the system, and improve the application value of the monitoring system, we use the Kinect sensor with CMOS infrared sensor, as a supplement to the traditional video surveillancesystem, to establish the natural user interface system for indoor surveillance. In this paper, the architecture of the natural user interface system, complex background monitoring object separation, user behavior analysis algorithms are discussed. By the analysis of the monitoring object, instead of the command language grammar, when the monitored object need instant help, the system with the natural user interface sends help information. We introduce the method of combining the new system and traditional monitoring system. In conclusion, theoretical analysis and experimental results in this paper show that the proposed system is reasonable and efficient. It can satisfy the system requirements of non-contact, online, real time, higher precision and rapid speed to control the state of affairs at the scene.

Objectives Firefighters regularly respond to hazardous situations that put them at risk for fatal occupational injuries. Traumatic occupational fatality surveillance is a foundation for understanding the problem and developing prevention strategies. We assessed four surveillancesystems for their utility in characterizing firefighter fatalities and informing prevention measures. Methods We examined three population-based systems (the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and systems maintained by the United States Fire Administration and the National Fire Protection Association) and one case-based system (data collected through the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Fire Fighter Fatality Investigation and Prevention Program). From each system, we selected traumatic fatalities among firefighters for 2003–2006. Then we compared case definitions, methods for case ascertainment, variables collected, and rate calculation methods. Results Overall magnitude of fatalities differed among systems. The population-based systems were effective in characterizing the circumstances of traumatic firefighter fatalities. The case-based surveillancesystem was effective in formulating detailed prevention recommendations, which could not be made based on the population-based data alone. Methods for estimating risk were disparate and limited fatality rate comparisons between firefighters and other workers. Conclusions The systems included in this study contribute toward a greater understanding of firefighter fatalities. Areas of improvement for these systems should continue to be identified as they are used to direct research and prevention efforts. PMID:21800748

When real-time disease surveillance is practiced in neighboring states within a region, public health users may benefit from easily sharing their concerns and findings regarding potential health threats. To better understand the need for this capability, an event communications component (ECC) was added to the National Capital Region Disease SurveillanceSystem, an operational biosurveillance system employed in the District of Columbia and in surrounding Maryland and Virginia counties. Through usage analysis and user survey methods, we assessed the value of the enhanced system in daily operational use and during two simulated exercises. Results suggest that the system has utility for regular users of the system as well as suggesting several refinements for future implementations.

Background An extensive West Nile virus surveillance program of dead birds, mosquitoes, horses, and human infection has been launched as a result of West Nile virus first being reported in Canada in 2001. Some desktop and web GIS have been applied to West Nile virus dead bird surveillance. There have been urgent needs for a comprehensive GIS services and real-time surveillance. Results A pilot system was developed to integrate real-time surveillance, real-time GIS, and Open GIS technology in order to enhance West Nile virus dead bird surveillance in Canada. Driven and linked by the newly developed real-time web GIS technology, this integrated real-time surveillancesystem includes conventional real-time web-based surveillance components, integrated real-time GIS components, and integrated Open GIS components. The pilot system identified the major GIS functions and capacities that may be important to public health surveillance. The six web GIS clients provide a wide range of GIS tools for public health surveillance. The pilot system has been serving Canadian national West Nile virus dead bird surveillance since 2005 and is adaptable to serve other disease surveillance. Conclusion This pilot system has streamlined, enriched and enhanced national West Nile virus dead bird surveillance in Canada, improved productivity, and reduced operation cost. Its real-time GIS technology, static map technology, WMS integration, and its integration with non-GIS real-time surveillancesystem made this pilot system unique in surveillance and public health GIS. PMID:16626490

On January 12, 2010, Haiti experienced a magnitude-7.0 earthquake; Haitian government officials estimated that 230,000 persons died and 300,000 were injured. At the time, Haiti had no system capable of providing timely surveillance on a wide range of health conditions. Within 2 weeks, Haiti's Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), CDC, and other national and international agencies launched the National Sentinel Site Surveillance (NSSS) System. The objectives were to monitor disease trends, detect outbreaks, and characterize the affected population to target relief efforts. Fifty-one hospital and clinic surveillance sites affiliated with the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) were selected to report daily counts by e-mail or telephone for 25 specified reportable conditions. During January 25-April 24, 2010, a total of 42,361 persons had a reportable condition; of these, 54.5% were female, and 32.6% were aged <5 years. Nationally, the three most frequently reported specified conditions were acute respiratory infection (ARI) (16.3%), suspected malaria (10.3%), and fever of unknown cause (10.0%). Injuries accounted for 12.0% of reported conditions. No epidemics or disease clusters were detected. The number of reports decreased over time. NSSS is ongoing and currently transitioning into becoming a long-term national surveillancesystem for Haiti. NSSS data could assist decision makers in allocation of resources and identifying effective public health interventions. However, data reporting and quality could be improved by additional surveillance education for health-care providers, laboratory confirmation of cases of disease, and Internet-based weekly reporting.

A prototype millimeter wave holographic surveillancesystem has been developed and demonstrated at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The prototype millimeter wave holographic surveillancesystem developed at PNL consists of a sequentially switched 2 X 64 element array coupled to a 35 GHz bi-static transceiver. The sequentially switched array of antennas can be used to obtain the holographic data at high speed by electronically sequencing the antennas along one dimension and performing a mechanical scan along the other dimension. A 1D mechanical scan can be performed in about one second. The prototype system scans an aperture of 0.75 by 2.05 m. This system has been demonstrated and images have been obtained on volunteers at Sea-Tac International airport in Seattle, Washington.

NASA's systems engineering has its heritage in space mission analysis and design, including the end-to-end approach to managing every facet of the extreme engineering required for successful space missions. NASA sensor technology, understanding of remote sensing, and knowledge of Earth system science, can be powerful new tools for improved disease surveillance and environmental public health tracking. NASA's systems engineering framework facilitates the match between facilitates the match between partner needs and decision support requirements in the areas of 1) Science/Data; 2) Technology; 3) Integration. Partnerships between NASA and other Federal agencies are diagrammed in this viewgraph presentation. NASA's role in these partnerships is to provide systemic and sustainable solutions that contribute to the measurable enhancement of a partner agency's disease surveillance efforts.

An expert system for online surveillance of nuclear reactor coolant pumps. This system provides a means for early detection of pump or sensor degradation. Degradation is determined through the use of a statistical analysis technique, sequential probability ratio test, applied to information from several sensors which are responsive to differing physical parameters. The results of sequential testing of the data provide the operator with an early warning of possible sensor or pump failure.

Automated aerial surveillance and detection of hostile ground events, and the tracking of the perpetrators have become of critical importance in the prevention and control of insurgent uprisings and the global war on terror. Yet a basic understanding of the limitations of sensor system coverage as a function of aerial platform position and attitude is often unavailable to program managers and system administrators. In an effort to better understand this problem we present some of the design tradeoffs for two applications: 1) a 360° viewing focal-plane array sensor system modeled for low altitude aerostat applications, and 2) a fixed diameter area of constant surveillance modeled for high altitude fixed wing aircraft applications. Ground coverage requirement tradeoffs include the number of sensors, sensor footprint geometry, footprint coverage variability as a function of platform position and attitude, and ground surface modeling. Event location specification includes latitude, longitude, altitude for the pixel centroid and corners, and line-of-sight centroid range.

Video surveillancesystems are of a great value for public safety. With an exponential increase in the number of cameras, videos obtained from surveillancesystems are often archived for forensic purposes. Many automatic methods have been proposed to do video analytics such as anomaly detection and human activity recognition. However, such methods face significant challenges due to object occlusions, shadows and scene illumination changes. In recent years, crowdsourcing has become an effective tool that utilizes human intelligence to perform tasks that are challenging for machines. In this paper, we present an intelligent crowdsourcing system for forensic analysis of surveillance video that includes the video recorded as a part of search and rescue missions and large-scale investigation tasks. We describe a method to enhance crowdsourcing by incorporating human detection, re-identification and tracking. At the core of our system, we use a hierarchal pyramid model to distinguish the crowd members based on their ability, experience and performance record. Our proposed system operates in an autonomous fashion and produces a final output of the crowdsourcing analysis consisting of a set of video segments detailing the events of interest as one storyline.

standard format by which blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video is disseminated via the web . SAR Synthetic Aperture Radar SBIR Small Business...Thru. TIGR Tactical Ground Reporting System, a web -based information sharing system available to the United States Army TIPL Tentacle IPL TM...Earth for development due to our past experience developing with it, and the maturity of the Tentacle user interface mockup we created (located at

A wide variety of technical needs exist for surveillance, monitoring, identifying, or detecting pathogens with potential use as biological terrorism or warfare agents. Because the needs vary greatly among diverse applications, tailored systems are needed that meet performance, information, and cost requirements. A systems perspective allows developers to identify chokepoints for each application, and focus R&D investments on the limiting factors. Surveillance and detection systems are comprised of three primary components: information (markers), chemistries (assays), and instrumentation for "readout". Careful consideration of these components within the context of each application will allow for increases in efficiency and performance not generally realized when researchers focus on a single component in isolation. In fact, many application requirements can be met with simple novel combinations of existing technologies, without the need for huge investments in basic research. Here we discuss some of the key parameters for surveillance, detection, and identification of biothreat agents, and provide examples of focused development that addresses key bottlenecks, and greatly improve system performance.

Optical observation through sub-meter telescope equipped with CCD camera becomes alternative method for increasing orbital debris detection and surveillance. This observational mode is expected to eye medium-sized objects in higher orbits (e.g. MEO, GTO, GSO & GEO), beyond the reach of usual radar system. However, such observation of fast moving objects demands special treatment and analysis technique. In this study, we performed photometric analysis of the satellite track images photographed using rehabilitated Schmidt Bima Sakti telescope in Bosscha Observatory. The Hough transformation was implemented to automatically detect linear streak from the images. From this analysis and comparison to USSPACECOM catalog, two satellites were identified and associated with inactive Thuraya-3 satellite and Satcom-3 debris which are located at geostationary orbit. Further aperture photometry analysis revealed the periodicity of tumbling Satcom-3 debris. In the near future, it is not impossible to apply similar scheme to establish an analysis pipeline for optical space surveillancesystem hosted in Indonesia.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever , Mediterranean spotted fever , scrub typhus, ehrlichiosis, and trench...seroposi- tivity in the military include age, home state with Rocky Mountain spotted fever incidence at least as high as the aggregated US incidence...surveillance of arthropod-trans- mitted diseases. Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are reportable medical events for Navy and Marine

Surveillancesystems for rabies in endemic regions are often subject to severe constraints in terms of resources. The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) propose the use of an active surveillancesystem to substantiate claims of disease freedom, including rabies. However, many countries do not have the resources to establish active surveillancesystems for rabies and the testing of dead dogs poses logistical challenges. This paper explores the potential of using a scenario tree model parameterised with data collected via questionnaires and interviews to estimate the sensitivity of passive surveillance, assessing its potential as a viable low-cost alternative to active surveillancesystems. The results of this explorative study illustrated that given a large enough sample size, in this case the entire population of Colombo City, the sensitivity of passive surveillance can be 100% even at a low disease prevalence (0.1%), despite the low sensitivity of individual surveillance components (mean values in the range 4.077×10(-5)-1.834×10(-3) at 1% prevalence). In addition, logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with increased recognition of rabies in dogs and reporting of rabies suspect dogs. Increased recognition was observed amongst dog owners (OR 3.8 (CI, 1.3-10.8)), people previously bitten by dogs (OR 5.9 (CI, 2.2-15.9)) and people who believed they had seen suspect dogs in the past (OR 4.7 (CI, 1.8-12.9)). Increased likelihood of reporting suspect dogs was observed amongst dog owners (OR 5.3 (CI, 1.1-25)). Further work is required to validate the data collection tool and the assumptions made in the model with respect to sample size in order to develop a robust methodology for evaluating passive rabies surveillance.

Rules ( IFR ) and Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight following that depends on cooperative avionics to support surveillance source data collection systems...identify aircraft that are receiving ANSP IFR or VFR flight following service. Aircraft identity is used as a radio call sign in the NAS to address...driven by requirements to provide and sustain IFR traffic capacity, that is, to have surveillance available even during subsystem outages. Coverage

Background A dengue fever outbreak occured in French Guiana in 2006. The objectives were to study the value of a syndromic surveillancesystem set up within the armed forces, compared to the traditional clinical surveillancesystem during this outbreak, to highlight issues involved in comparing military and civilian surveillancesystems and to discuss the interest of syndromic surveillance for public health response. Methods Military syndromic surveillance allows the surveillance of suspected dengue fever cases among the 3,000 armed forces personnel. Within the same population, clinical surveillance uses several definition criteria for dengue fever cases, depending on the epidemiological situation. Civilian laboratory surveillance allows the surveillance of biologically confirmed cases, within the 200,000 inhabitants. Results It was shown that syndromic surveillance detected the dengue fever outbreak several weeks before clinical surveillance, allowing quick and effective enhancement of vector control within the armed forces. Syndromic surveillance was also found to have detected the outbreak before civilian laboratory surveillance. Conclusion Military syndromic surveillance allowed an early warning for this outbreak to be issued, enabling a quicker public health response by the armed forces. Civilian surveillancesystem has since introduced syndromic surveillance as part of its surveillance strategy. This should enable quicker public health responses in the future. PMID:18597694

We compared immunization data in the Defense Medical SurveillanceSystem (DMSS) and immunization data for service members with an anthrax vaccine-associated adverse event reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) during January 1998 through December 2004. Our main measure of agreement was sensitivity of the DMSS conditional on an immunization record(s) occurring in VAERS. The sensitivity of DMSS was 73% for all vaccines and 74% for the anthrax vaccine on the VAERS index immunization date. Our study is the first to quantify the agreement between immunization records in VAERS and DMSS. Our data suggest the immunization information in military VAERS reports and the DMSS is similar for anthrax and non-anthrax immunizations.

Infections related to the health-care system are those associated with health care practices in hospitalized patients as well as in out-patients with health-care contact. Nosocomial infections affect 5% of in-patients, and carry a high morbidity, mortality and economic cost. The main types of nosocomial infections are related to invasive procedures, and include respiratory tract infection, surgical site infections, urinary tract infections, and vascular catheter bacteremia. It has been shown that the application of checklists and a bundle of measures are useful in preventing these infections. Epidemiological surveillance, defined as the gathering of information to take actions, is the basis of infection control programs. These have evolved from a global surveillance targeted at processes and indicators of nosocomial infection. The comparison of these indicators can be useful in establishing preventive measures.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is required to carry out duties such as surveillance, reconnaissance, search and rescue and security patrol missions. Autonomous operation of UAVs is a key to the success of these missions. In this chapter, we propose to use a behavior based control architecture to implement autonomous operation for UAV surveillance missions. This control architecture consists of two layers: a low level control layer and a behavior layer. The low level control layer decomposes 3D motion of UAVs into several atomic actions, such as yaw, roll, pitch, altitude, and 2D position control. These atomic actions together serve as a basis for the behavior layer. The behavior layer consists of a number of necessary behaviors used for surveillance missions, including take-off, object tracking, hovering, landing, trajectory following, obstacle avoidance amongst other behaviors. These behaviors can be instantiated individually or collectively to fulfill the required missions issued by human operators. To evaluate the proposed control architecture, the commercially available DraganFlyer QuadRotor was used as the UAV platform. With the aid of an indoor positioning system, several atomic actions and a group of behaviors were developed for the DraganFlyer. Real testing experiments were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and performance of the proposed system.

Hospital-acquired infections represent a significant cause of prolonged inpatient days and additional hospital charges. We describe an expert system, called GERMWATCHER, which applies the Centers for Disease Control's National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance culture-based criteria for detecting nosocomial infections. GERMWATCHER has been deployed at Barnes Hospital, a large tertiary-care teaching hospital, since February 1993. We describe the Barnes Hospital infection control environment, the expert system design, and a predeployment performance evaluation. We then compare our system to other efforts in computer-based infection control. PMID:8130456

The author describes the design of the modernized solid-state transmitter for the US Naval Space SurveillanceSystem (NAVSPASUR) station transmitters at Jordan Lake, AL, Gila River, AZ, and Lake Kickapoo, TX. The modernized NAVSPASUR is the highest average power solid-state transmitter ever produced. With the antenna gain of the system, it produces an effective radiated average power in excess of 98 dBw. Solid-state modernization of the NAVSPASUR transmitter has produced significant cost and performance improvements, which are expected to extend the operating life of the system into the next century.

An apparatus and method are disclosed for surveillance and diagnosis of breached fuel elements in a nuclear reactor. A delayed neutron monitoring system provides output signals indicating the delayed neutron activity and age and the equivalent recoil area of a breached fuel element. Sensors are used to provide outputs indicating the status of each component of the delayed neutron monitoring system. Detectors also generate output signals indicating the reactor power level and the primary coolant flow rate of the reactor. The outputs from the detectors and sensors are interfaced with an artificial intelligence-based knowledge system which implements predetermined logic and generates output signals indicating the operability of the reactor. 2 figs.

An apparatus and method are disclosed for surveillance and diagnosis of breached fuel elements in a nuclear reactor. A delayed neutron monitoring system provides output signals indicating the delayed neutron activity and age and the equivalent recoil areas of a breached fuel element. Sensors are used to provide outputs indicating the status of each component of the delayed neutron monitoring system. Detectors also generate output signals indicating the reactor power level and the primary coolant flow rate of the reactor. The outputs from the detectors and sensors are interfaced with an artificial intelligence-based knowledge system which implements predetermined logic and generates output signals indicating the operability of the reactor.

Millimeter wave holographic imaging systems capable of imaging through clothing to detect contraband, metal, plastic, or ceramic weapons may provided a practical solution to personnel inspection needs in mass transportation centers. Traditional inspection systems, such as metal detectors and x-ray imaging systems, have limitations for the detection of concealed weapons. Metal detectors are limited because they cannot detect plastic weapons and x-ray imaging systems are limited in use due to radiological health considerations. A prototype millimeter wave holographic surveillancesystem has been developed and demonstrated at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The prototype millimeter wave holographic surveillancesystem developed at PNL consists of a sequentially switched 2 (times) 64 element array coupled to a 35 GHz bi-static transceiver. The sequentially switched array of antennas can be used to obtain the holographic data at high speed by electronically sequencing the antennas along one dimension and performing a mechanical scan along the other dimension. A one-dimensional mechanical scan be be performed in about one second. The prototype system scans an aperture of 0.75 by 2.05. This system has been demonstrated and images have been obtained on volunteers at Sea-Tac International airport in Seattle, Washington.

Millimeter wave holographic imaging systems capable of imaging through clothing to detect contraband, metal, plastic, or ceramic weapons may provided a practical solution to personnel inspection needs in mass transportation centers. Traditional inspection systems, such as metal detectors and x-ray imaging systems, have limitations for the detection of concealed weapons. metal detectors are limited because they cannot detect plastic weapons and x-ray imaging systems are limited in use due to radiological health considerations. A prototype millimeter wave holographic surveillancesystem has been developed and demonstrated at the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). The prototype millimeter wave holographic surveillancesystem developed at PNL consists of a sequentially switched 2 {times} 64 element array coupled to a 35 GHz bi-static transceiver. The sequentially switched array of antennas can be used to obtain the holographic data at high speed by electonically sequencing the antennas along one dimension and performing a mechanical scan along the other dimension. A one-dimensional mechanical scan be be performed in about one second. The prototype system scans an aperture of 0.75 by 2.05. This system has been demonstrated and images have been obtained on volunteers at Sea-Tac International airport in Seattle, Washington.

System and method providing surveillance of an asset such as a process and/or apparatus by providing training and surveillance procedures that numerically fit a probability density function to an observed residual error signal distribution that is correlative to normal asset operation and then utilizes the fitted probability density function in a dynamic statistical hypothesis test for providing improved asset surveillance.

System and method providing surveillance of an asset such as a process and/or apparatus by providing training and surveillance procedures that numerically fit a probability density function to an observed residual error signal distribution that is correlative to normal asset operation and then utilizes the fitted probability density function in a dynamic statistical hypothesis test for providing improved asset surveillance.

System and method providing surveillance of an asset such as a process and/or apparatus by providing training and surveillance procedures that numerically fit a probability density function to an observed residual error signal distribution that is correlative to normal asset operation and then utilizes the fitted probability density function in a dynamic statistical hypothesis test for providing improved asset surveillance.

Objective To explore the applicability of a syndromic surveillance method to the early detection of health information technology (HIT) system failures. Methods A syndromic surveillancesystem was developed to monitor a laboratory information system at a tertiary hospital. Four indices were monitored: (1) total laboratory records being created; (2) total records with missing results; (3) average serum potassium results; and (4) total duplicated tests on a patient. The goal was to detect HIT system failures causing: data loss at the record level; data loss at the field level; erroneous data; and unintended duplication of data. Time-series models of the indices were constructed, and statistical process control charts were used to detect unexpected behaviors. The ability of the models to detect HIT system failures was evaluated using simulated failures, each lasting for 24 h, with error rates ranging from 1% to 35%. Results In detecting data loss at the record level, the model achieved a sensitivity of 0.26 when the simulated error rate was 1%, while maintaining a specificity of 0.98. Detection performance improved with increasing error rates, achieving a perfect sensitivity when the error rate was 35%. In the detection of missing results, erroneous serum potassium results and unintended repetition of tests, perfect sensitivity was attained when the error rate was as small as 5%. Decreasing the error rate to 1% resulted in a drop in sensitivity to 0.65–0.85. Conclusions Syndromic surveillance methods can potentially be applied to monitor HIT systems, to facilitate the early detection of failures. PMID:23184193

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently coordinates rotavirus diarrhea and invasive bacterial disease (IBD) surveillance at 178 sentinel sites in 60 countries. However, only 78 sites participate in both surveillancesystems using a common sentinel site. Here, we explored the feasibility of extending a WHO-IBD surveillance platform to generate data on the burden of rotaviral diarrhea and its epidemiological characteristics to prepare the countries to measure the impact of rotaviral vaccine. A six-month (July to December, 2012) surveillance, managed by IBD team, collected stool samples and clinical data from under-five children with acute watery diarrhea at an IBD sentinel site. Samples were tested for rotavirus antigen by ELISA and genotyped by PCR at the regional reference laboratory (RRL). Specimens were collected from 79% (n=297) of eligible cases (n=375); 100% of which were tested for rotavirus by ELISA and 54% (159/297) of them were positive. At RRL, all the cases were confirmed by PCR and genotyped (99%; 158/159). The typing results revealed the predominance of G12 (40%; 64/159) genotype, followed by G1 (31%; 50/159) and G9 (19%; 31/159). All in all, this exploratory surveillance collected the desired demographic and epidemiological data and achieved almost all the benchmark indicators of WHO, starting from enrollment number to quality assurance through a number of case detection, collection, and testing of specimens and genotyping of strains at RRL. The success of this WHO-IBD site in achieving these benchmark indicators of WHO can be used by WHO as a proof-of-concept for considering integration of rotavirus surveillance with WHO-IBD platforms, specifically in countries with well performing IBD site and no ongoing rotavirus surveillance.

Video is used as recording media in surveillancesystem and also more frequently by the Swedish Police Force. Methods for analyzing video using an image processing system have recently been introduced at the Swedish National Laboratory of Forensic Science, and new methods are in focus in a research project at Linkoping University, Image Coding Group. The accuracy of the result of those forensic investigations often depends on the quality of the video recordings, and one of the major problems when analyzing videos from crime scenes is the poor quality of the recordings. Enhancing poor image quality might add manipulative or subjective effects and does not seem to be the right way of getting reliable analysis results. The surveillancesystem in use today is mainly based on video techniques, VHS or S-VHS, and the weakest link is the video cassette recorder, (VCR). Multiplexers for selecting one of many camera outputs for recording is another problem as it often filters the video signal, and recording is limited to only one of the available cameras connected to the VCR. A way to get around the problem of poor recording is to simultaneously record all camera outputs digitally. It is also very important to build such a system bearing in mind that image processing analysis methods becomes more important as a complement to the human eye. Using one or more cameras gives a large amount of data, and the need for data compression is more than obvious. Crime scenes often involve persons or moving objects, and the available coding techniques are more or less useful. Our goal is to propose a possible system, being the best compromise with respect to what needs to be recorded, movements in the recorded scene, loss of information and resolution etc., to secure the efficient recording of the crime and enable forensic analysis. The preventative effective of having a well functioning surveillancesystem and well established image analysis methods is not to be neglected. Aspects of

The use of performance-based contracting at Kennedy Space Center has necessitated a shift from intrusive oversight of contractor activities to an insight surveillance role. This paper describes the results of a pilot implementation of the NASA Quality SurveillanceSystem (NQSS) in the Space Shuttle Main Engines Processing Facility. The NQSS is a system to sample contractor activities using documented procedures, specifications, drawings and observations of work in progress to answer the question "Is the contractor doing what they said they would do?" The concepts of the NQSS are shown to be effective in providing assurance of contractor quality. Many of the concepts proven in the pilot are being considered for incorporation into an overall KSC Quality SurveillanceSystem.

The use of performance-based contracting at Kennedy Space Center has necessitated a shift from intrusive oversight of contractor activities to an insight surveillance role. This paper describes the results of a pilot implementation of the NASA Quality SurveillanceSystem (NQSS) in the Space Shuttle Main Engines Processing Facility. The NQSS is a system to sample contractor activities using documented procedures, specifications, drawings and observations of work in progress to answer the question "Is the contractor doing what they said they would do?" The concepts of the NQSS are shown to be effective in providing assurance of contractor quality. Many of the concepts proven in the pilot are being considered for incorporation into an overall KSC Quality SurveillanceSystem.

requirements for military electric power . The report offers design recommendations to minimize the procurement cost of the SOFC system. The report ...design, develop, and fabricate a military SOFC Power Plant up to 10 kW for military applications, which will include military diesel and JP-8 fuel...the military’s current and future electric power needs and capabilities, (2) the requirements for building a military SOFC power system with design

The U.S. Coast Guard is developing a prototype airborne oil surveillancesystem for use in its Marine Environmental Protection Program. The prototype system utilizes an X-band side-looking radar, a 37-GHz imaging microwave radiometer, a multichannel line scanner, and a multispectral low light level system. The system is geared to detecting and mapping oil spills and potential pollution violators anywhere within a 25 nmi range of the aircraft flight track under all but extreme weather conditions. The system provides for false target discrimination and maximum identification of spilled materials. The system also provides an automated detection alarm, as well as a color display to achieve maximum coupling between the sensor data and the equipment operator.

To generate timely and reliable information for decision making in local health centers, Mexico's National Epidemiological SurveillanceSystem (SINAVE) was evaluated and reformed. The reform was achieved by consensus through national meetings of epidemiologists, using a conceptual model of requirements, leadership, participation, and motivation. The new SINAVE is run by committees that use data from 16 468 local health centers that generate homogeneous information from all health institutions. Indicators, flowcharts, and standardized instruments were created. The reforms modernized SINAVE and strengthened epidemiologists' leadership, consolidated local decision making, and assessed control actions needed to improve the health of the Mexican population. PMID:11684594

A wideband holographic cylindrical surveillancesystem including a transceiver for generating a plurality of electromagnetic waves; antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic waves toward a target at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; the transceiver also receiving and converting electromagnetic waves reflected from the target to electrical signals at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; a computer for processing the electrical signals to obtain signals corresponding to a holographic reconstruction of the target; and a display for displaying the processed information to determine nature of the target. The computer has instructions to apply Fast Fourier Transforms and obtain a three dimensional cylindrical image.

A wideband holographic cylindrical surveillancesystem is disclosed including a transceiver for generating a plurality of electromagnetic waves; antenna for transmitting the electromagnetic waves toward a target at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; the transceiver also receiving and converting electromagnetic waves reflected from the target to electrical signals at a plurality of predetermined positions in space; a computer for processing the electrical signals to obtain signals corresponding to a holographic reconstruction of the target; and a display for displaying the processed information to determine nature of the target. The computer has instructions to apply Fast Fourier Transforms and obtain a three dimensional cylindrical image. 13 figs.

In this paper we describe a prototype surveillancesystem that leverages smart sensor motes, intelligent video, and Sensor Web technologies to aid in large area monitoring operations and to enhance the security of borders and critical infrastructures. Intelligent video has emerged as a promising tool amid growing concern about border security and vulnerable entry points. However, numerous barriers exist that limit the effectiveness of surveillance video in large area protection; such as the number of cameras needed to provide coverage, large volumes of data to be processed and disseminated, lack of smart sensors to detect potential threats and limited bandwidth to capture and distribute video data. We present a concept prototype that addresses these obstacles by employing a Smart Video Node in a Sensor Web framework. Smart Video Node (SVN) is an IP video camera with automated event detection capability. SVNs are cued by inexpensive sensor motes to detect the existence of humans or vehicles. Based on sensor motes' observations cameras are slewed in to observe the activity and automated video analysis detects potential threats to be disseminated as "alerts". Sensor Web framework enables quick and efficient identification of available sensors, collects data from disparate sensors, automatically tasks various sensors based on observations or events received from other sensors, and receives and disseminates alerts from multiple sensors. The prototype system is implemented by leveraging intuVision's intelligent video, Northrop Grumman's sensor motes and SensorWeb technologies. Implementation of a deployable system with Smart Video Nodes and sensor motes within the SensorWeb platform is currently underway. The final product will have many applications in commercial, government and militarysystems.

There is an emerging need for fusing hard and soft sensor data in an efficient surveillancesystem to provide accurate estimation of situation awareness. These mostly abstract, multi-dimensional and multi-sensor data pose a great challenge to the user in performing analysis of multi-threaded events efficiently and cohesively. To address this concern an interactive Visual Analytics (VA) application is developed for rapid assessment and evaluation of different hypotheses based on context-sensitive ontology spawn from taxonomies describing human/human and human/vehicle/object interactions. A methodology is described here for generating relevant ontology in a Persistent SurveillanceSystem (PSS) and demonstrates how they can be utilized in the context of PSS to track and identify group activities pertaining to potential threats. The proposed VA system allows for visual analysis of raw data as well as metadata that have spatiotemporal representation and content-based implications. Additionally in this paper, a technique for rapid search of tagged information contingent to ranking and confidence is explained for analysis of multi-dimensional data. Lastly the issue of uncertainty associated with processing and interpretation of heterogeneous data is also addressed.

New welfare regulations will impose surveillancesystems so that information on the quality of transport conditions is available. Moreover a route description is useful for optimisation of transport logistics, but also in relation to estimating of sanitary risk and food safety, including traceability of individual animals. Therefore a transport surveillancesystem has been developed which is integrating the following information: individual identification of animals, (un)loading place and time, air quality (temperature, relative humidity, emissions), vibration and behaviour of the animals. These data are collected by telemetry and GPS, and are transmitted to a dispatch centre by GSM. Hence, information is available on-line and on disk, so that the driver can be informed and corrected at the spot. Dynamic route optimization of cattle collection from farms and logistical activities of abattoirs are considered in relation to animal welfare. Another instrumentation package that comprises sensors of heart rate and vibration on the animal has been integrated. These sensors can be mounted on animals and the data is transferred to a database through a wireless network. Comprehensive field measurement has been made to evaluate the system and found that the package performs well. Hence, advice will be generated for vehicle manufacturers, hauliers, farmers, slaughterhouses and retailers.

The interest in face recognition is moving toward real-world applications and uncontrolled sensing environments. An important application of interest is automated surveillance, where the objective is to recognize and track people who are on a watchlist. For this open world application, a large number of cameras that are increasingly being installed at many locations in shopping malls, metro systems, airports, etc., will be utilized. While a very large number of people will approach or pass by these surveillance cameras, only a small set of individuals must be recognized. That is, the system must reject every subject unless the subject happens to be on the watchlist. While humans routinely reject previously unseen faces as strangers, rejection of previously unseen faces has remained a difficult aspect of automated face recognition. In this paper, we propose an approach motivated by human perceptual ability of face recognition which can handle previously unseen faces. Our approach is based on identifying the decision region(s) in the face space which belong to the target person(s). This is done by generating two large sets of borderline images, projecting just inside and outside of the decision region. For each person on the watchlist, a dedicated classifier is trained. Results of extensive experiments support the effectiveness of our approach. In addition to extensive experiments using our algorithm and prerecorded images, we have conducted considerable live system experiments with people in realistic environments.

Geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) from Earth-observing satellites offer opportunities for rapid assessment of areas endemic for vector-borne diseases including estimates of populations at risk and guidance to intervention strategies. This presentation deals with GIS and RS applications for the control of schistosomiasis in China and the Philippines. It includes large-scale risk mapping including identification of suitable habitats for Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum. Predictions of infection risk are discussed with reference to ecological transformations and the potential impact of climate change and the potential for long-term temperature increases in the North as well as the impact on rivers, lakes and water resource developments. Potential integration of geospatial mapping and modeling in schistosomiasis surveillance and response systems in Asia within Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) guidelines in the health societal benefit area is discussed.

The National Electronic Disease SurveillanceSystem (NEDSS) is a web-based system that uses standard health information technology (IT) codes to integrate disease surveillancesystems, enabling them to transfer public health, laboratory, and clinical data securely from health-care providers to public health departments. Each jurisdictions' system consists of a base system and modules that can be used for specific surveillance purposes. States also use NEDSS-like or other electronic systems to conduct surveillance on specific diseases or conditions. Until recently, no assessment had been done to describe the status and characteristics of state electronic disease surveillancesystems. The Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) conducted such an assessment in August 2007 in all 50 states. This report presents the results of that assessment, which indicated that, in 2007, state electronic disease surveillancesystems varied widely and were in various stages of implementation. Each state had either custom-built systems or purchased systems that were customizable, with associated disease modules to meet its own surveillance needs. As interoperability becomes the standard for electronic data sharing, more states will face customization costs and the need to hire more technical specialists who can manage health information and exchange. Further collaboration and support from surveillance and health-care IT stakeholders with public health will be needed to improve the efficacy and quality of electronic disease surveillancesystems.

Objectives: As an important element of national security, public health not only functions to provide adequate and timely medical care but also track, monitor, and control disease outbreak. The Nigerian health care had suffered several infectious disease outbreaks year after year. Hence, there is need to tackle the problem. This study aims to review the state of the Nigerian health care system and to provide possible recommendations to the worsening state of health care in the country. To give up-to-date recommendations for the Nigerian health care system, this study also aims at reviewing the dynamics of health care in the United States, Britain, and Europe with regards to methods of medical intelligence/surveillance. Materials and Methods: Databases were searched for relevant literatures using the following keywords: Nigerian health care, Nigerian health care system, and Nigerian primary health care system. Additional keywords used in the search were as follows: United States (OR Europe) health care dynamics, Medical Intelligence, Medical Intelligence systems, Public health surveillancesystems, Nigerian medical intelligence, Nigerian surveillancesystems, and Nigerian health information system. Literatures were searched in scientific databases Pubmed and African Journals OnLine. Internet searches were based on Google and Search Nigeria. Results: Medical intelligence and surveillance represent a very useful component in the health care system and control diseases outbreak, bioattack, etc. There is increasing role of automated-based medical intelligence and surveillancesystems, in addition to the traditional manual pattern of document retrieval in advanced medical setting such as those in western and European countries. Conclusion: The Nigerian health care system is poorly developed. No adequate and functional surveillancesystems are developed. To achieve success in health care in this modern era, a system well grounded in routine surveillance and medical

Study Objective: Sleep problems may constitute a risk for health problems, including cardiovascular disease, depression, diabetes, poor work performance, and motor vehicle accidents. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the validity of the current Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS) sleep questions by establishing the sensitivity and specificity for detection of sleep/ wake disturbance. Methods: Repeated cross-sectional assessment of 300 community dwelling adults over the age of 18 who did not wear CPAP or oxygen during sleep. Reliability and validity testing of the BRFSS sleep questions was performed comparing to BFRSS responses to data from home sleep study, actigraphy for 14 days, Insomnia Severity Index, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and PROMIS-57. Results: Only two of the five BRFSS sleep questions were found valid and reliable in determining total sleep time and excessive daytime sleepiness. Conclusions: Refinement of the BRFSS questions is recommended. Citation: Jungquist CR, Mund J, Aquilina AT, Klingman K, Pender J, Ochs-Balcom H, van Wijngaarden E, Dickerson SS. Validation of the behavioral risk factor surveillancesystem sleep questions. J Clin Sleep Med 2016;12(3):301–310. PMID:26446246

The Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (HDSS) in Niakhar, a rural area of Senegal, is located 135 km east of Dakar. The HDSS was established in 1962 by the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) of Senegal to face the shortcomings of the civil registration system and provide demographic indicators. Some 65 villages in the Niakhar area were followed annually by the HDSS from 1962–1969. The study zone was reduced to 8 villages from 1969–1983, and from then on the HDSS was extended to include 22 other villages, covering a total of 30 villages for a population estimated at 43 000 in January 2012. Thus, 8 villages in the Niakhar area have been under demographic surveillance for almost 50 years and 30 villages for 30 years. Vital events, migrations, marital changes, pregnancies, and immunizations are routinely recorded every 4 months. The HDSS data base also includes epidemiological, economic, and environmental information obtained from specific surveys. Data were collected through annual rounds from 1962 to 1987. The rounds became weekly from 1987–1997, followed by routine visits conducted every 3 months between 1997 and 2007 and every 4 months since then. The data collected in the HDSS are not open to access, but can be fairly shared under conditions of collaboration and endowment. PMID:24062286

With the increasing traffic and the development of business trajectories, there is a widespread need to anticipate any adverse weather conditions that could impact the performance of the flight or to use of atmospheric parameters to optimize trajectories. Current sensors onboard air transport are challenged to provide the required service, while new products for business jets and general aviation open the door to innovative assimilation of weather information in onboard surveillance and navigation. The paper aims at surveying current technology available to air transport aircraft and pointing out their shortcomings in view of the modernization proposed in SESAR and NextGen implementation plans. Foreseen innovations are then illustrated via results of ongoing research like FLYSAFE or standardization efforts, in particular meteorological datalink services and impact on Human-Machine Interface. The paper covers the operational need to avoid adverse weather like thunderstorm, icing, turbulence, windshear and volcanic ash, but also the requirement to control in 4D the trajectory through the integration of wind and temperature grids in the flight management. The former will lead to enhanced surveillancesystems onboard the aircraft with new displays and new alerting schemes, ranging from targeted information supporting better re-planning to auto-escape strategies. The latter will be standard in next generation flight management systems. Finally both will rely on ATM products that will also assimilate weather information so that situational awareness is shared and decision is collaborative.

The Chi Linh Health and Demographic SurveillanceSystem (CHILILAB HDSS) is the only health and demographic surveillancesystem (HDSS) in an urbanizing area of the Chi Linh district of Hai Duong, a northern province of Vietnam. It is one of the few field laboratories in the world that links operational research and health interventions with field training. The CHILILAB HDSS provides longitudinal data on demographic and health indicators for the community of Chi Linh. In 2012, when the CHILILAB HDSS included 57,561 people from 17 993 households in 3 towns and 4 communes, it used structured questionnaires to collect information on population changes (birth, death, migration, marriage, and pregnancy) in the community. As of December 2012, 5 rounds of a baseline survey and 17 periodic update surveys or re-enumeration surveys had been conducted. In addition, several specialized public-health research projects, focused particularly on adolescent health, have been implemented by the CHILILAB HDSS. The information that the CHILILAB HDSS has gathered provides a picture of the health status of the population and socio-economic situation in Chi Linh district. The contact person for data sharing is the director of the CHILILAB (E-mail: thb@hsph.edu.vn).

Stochastic scenario trees are a new and popular method by which surveillancesystems can be analyzed to demonstrate freedom from pests and disease. For multiple component systems-such as a combination of a serological survey and systematically collected observations-it can be difficult to represent the complete system in a tree because many branches are required to represent complex conditional relationships. Here we show that many of the branches of some scenario trees have identical outcomes and are therefore redundant. We demonstrate how to prune branches and derive compact representations of scenario trees using matrix algebra and Bayesian belief networks. The Bayesian network representation is particularly useful for calculation and exposition. It therefore provides a firm basis for arguing disease freedom in international forums.

A volcano-surveillancesystem utilizing 23 multilevel earthquake counters and 6 biaxial borehole tiltmeters is being installed and tested on 15 volcanoes in 4 States and 4 foreign countries. The purpose of this system is to give early warning when apparently dormant volcanoes are becoming active. The data are relayed through the ERTS-Data Collection System to Menlo Park for analysis. Installation was completed in 1972 on the volcanoes St. Augustine and Iliamna in Alaska, Kilauea in Hawaii, Baker, Rainier and St. Helens in Washington, Lassen in California, and at a site near Reykjavik, Iceland. Installation continues and should be completed in April 1973 on the volcanoes Santiaguito, Fuego, Agua and Pacaya in Guatemala, Izalco in El Salvador and San Cristobal, Telica and Cerro Negro in Nicaragua.

The authors present the results of the Integrated Monitoring and SurveillanceSystem (IMSS) demonstration project Phase I efforts. The rationale behind IMSS development is reviewed and progress in each of the 5 basic tasks is detailed. Significant results include decisions to use Echelon LonWorks networking protocol and Microsoft Access for the data system needs, a preliminary design for the plutonium canning system glovebox, identification of facilities and materials available for the demonstration, determination of possibly affected facility documentation, and a preliminary list of available sensor technologies. Recently imposed changes in the overall project schedule and scope are also discussed and budgetary requirements for competition of Phase II presented. The results show that the IMSS demonstration project team has met and in many cases exceeded the commitments made for Phase I deliverables.

In this paper, we present the design and implementation of the integrated proactive surveillancesystem for prostate cancer (PASS-PC). The integrated PASS-PC is a multi-institutional web-based system aimed at collecting a variety of data on prostate cancer patients in a standardized and efficient way. The integrated PASS-PC was commissioned by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and built through the joint of efforts by a group of experts in medical oncology, genetics, pathology, nutrition, and cancer research informatics. Their main goal is facilitating the efficient and uniform collection of critical demographic, lifestyle, nutritional, dietary and clinical information to be used in developing new strategies in diagnosing, preventing and treating prostate cancer.The integrated PASS-PC is designed based on common industry standards - a three tiered architecture and a Service- Oriented Architecture (SOA). It utilizes open source software and programming languages such as HTML, PHP, CSS, JQuery, Drupal and MySQL. We also use a commercial database management system - Oracle 11g. The integrated PASS-PC project uses a "confederation model" that encourages participation of any interested center, irrespective of its size or location. The integrated PASS-PC utilizes a standardized approach to data collection and reporting, and uses extensive validation procedures to prevent entering erroneous data. The integrated PASS-PC controlled vocabulary is harmonized with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Thesaurus. Currently, two cancer centers in the USA are participating in the integrated PASS-PC project.THE FINAL SYSTEM HAS THREE MAIN COMPONENTS: 1. National Prostate Surveillance Network (NPSN) website; 2. NPSN myConnect portal; 3. Proactive SurveillanceSystem for Prostate Cancer (PASS-PC). PASS-PC is a cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid (caBIG) compatible product. The integrated PASS-PC provides a foundation for collaborative prostate cancer research. It has been built to

Military families face challenges not found in other work environments. Shifting work schedules that are often longer than the typical 8-hour day, as well as the ever-present possibility of being deployed anywhere in the world on a moment's notice, require a child care system that is flexible but maintains high-quality standards. The U.S.…

Nearly a century after the significance of the human complement system was recognized, we have come to realize that its functions extend far beyond the elimination of microbes. Complement acts as a rapid and efficient immune surveillancesystem that has distinct effects on healthy and altered host cells and foreign intruders. By eliminating cellular debris and infectious microbes, orchestrating immune responses and sending 'danger' signals, complement contributes substantially to homeostasis, but it can also take action against healthy cells if not properly controlled. This review describes our updated view of the function, structure and dynamics of the complement network, highlights its interconnection with immunity at large and with other endogenous pathways, and illustrates its multiple roles in homeostasis and disease.

with its expansive network of renown international researchers, continues to strive for surveillance products of benefit for force health protection...to DOD and US Army requirements and delivers life saving products including knowledge, technology, and medical materiel that sustain the combat...deployed veterinary personnel to screen for highly pathogenic avian influenza in animals by validating the National Veterinary Service Laboratory avian

Priority health-risk behaviors (i.e., interrelated and preventable behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among youths and adults) often are established during childhood and adolescence and extend into adulthood. The Youth Risk Behavior SurveillanceSystem (YRBSS), established in 1991, monitors six categories of priority health-risk behaviors among youths and young adults: 1) behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; 2) sexual behaviors that contribute to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, other sexually transmitted diseases, and unintended pregnancy; 3) tobacco use; 4) alcohol and other drug use; 5) unhealthy dietary behaviors; and 6) physical inactivity. In addition, YRBSS monitors the prevalence of obesity and asthma among this population. YRBSS data are obtained from multiple sources including a national school-based survey conducted by CDC as well as schoolbased state, territorial, tribal, and large urban school district surveys conducted by education and health agencies. These surveys have been conducted biennially since 1991 and include representative samples of students in grades 9-12. In 2004, a description of the YRBSS methodology was published (CDC. Methodology of the Youth Risk Behavior SurveillanceSystem. MMWR 2004;53 [No RR-12]). Since 2004, improvements have been made to YRBSS, including increases in coverage and expanded technical assistance.This report describes these changes and updates earlier descriptions of the system, including questionnaire content; operational procedures; sampling, weighting, and response rates; data-collection protocols; data-processing procedures; reports and publications; and data quality. This report also includes results of methods studies that systematically examined how different survey procedures affect prevalence estimates. YRBSS continues to evolve to meet the needs of CDC and other data users through the ongoing revision of the questionnaire

The Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) is a layered system incorporating elements in space. In addition to missile warning systems at geosynchronous altitudes, an operational BMDS will include a low Earth orbit (LEO) system-the Space Tracking and SurveillanceSystem (STSS). It will use infrared sensing technologies synergistically with the Space Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) and will provide a seamless adjunct to radars and sensors on the ground and in airborne platforms. STSS is being designed for a future operational capability to defend against evolving threats. STSS development is divided into phases, commencing with a two-satellite demonstration constellation scheduled for launch in 2008. The demonstration satellites will conduct a menu of tests and experiments to prove the system concept, including the ground segment. They will have limited operational capability within the integrated BMDS. Data from the demonstration satellites will be received and processed by the Missile Defense Space Experiment Center (MDSEC), a part of the Missile Defense Integration and Operations Center (MDIOC). MDA launched in 2007 into LEO a satellite (NFIRE) designed to make near-field multispectral measurements of boosting targets and to demonstrate laser communication, the latter in conjunction with the German satellite TerraSAR-X. The gimbaled, lightweight laser terminal has demonstrated on orbit a 5.5 gbps rate in both directions. The filter passbands of NFIRE are similar to the STSS demonstrator track sensor. While providing useful phenomenology during its time on orbit, NFIRE will also serve as a pathfinder in the development of STSS operations procedures.

The implementation of regular and relevant evaluations of surveillancesystems is critical in improving their effectiveness and their relevance whilst limiting their cost. The complex nature of these systems and the variable contexts in which they are implemented call for the development of flexible evaluation tools. Within this scope, participatory tools have been developed and implemented for the African swine fever (ASF) surveillancesystem in Corsica (France). The objectives of this pilot study were, firstly, to assess the applicability of participatory approaches within a developed environment involving various stakeholders and, secondly, to define and test methods developed to assess evaluation attributes. Two evaluation attributes were targeted: the acceptability of the surveillancesystem and its the non-monetary benefits. Individual semi-structured interviews and focus groups were implemented with representatives from every level of the system. Diagramming and scoring tools were used to assess the different elements that compose the definition of acceptability. A contingent valuation method, associated with proportional piling, was used to assess the non-monetary benefits, i.e., the value of sanitary information. Sixteen stakeholders were involved in the process, through 3 focus groups and 8 individual semi-structured interviews. Stakeholders were selected according to their role in the system and to their availability. Results highlighted a moderate acceptability of the system for farmers and hunters and a high acceptability for other representatives (e.g., private veterinarians, local laboratories). Out of the 5 farmers involved in assessing the non-monetary benefits, 3 were interested in sanitary information on ASF. The data collected via participatory approaches enable relevant recommendations to be made, based on the Corsican context, to improve the current surveillancesystem.

As commercial air travel grows in terms of the number of passenger miles flown, there is expected to be a corresponding dramatic increase in the absolute number of accidents. This despite an enviable safety record and a very low accident rate. The political environment is such that an increase in the absolute number of accidents is not acceptable, with a stated goal of a factor of five reduction in the aviation fatal accident rate within ten years. The objective of this project is to develop an improved surveillance process that will provide measurements of the current state-of-health and predictions of future state of health of aircraft, operators, facilities, and personnel. Methodologies developed for nuclear weapon safety, in addition to more well known system safety and high-consequence engineering techniques, will be used in this approach.

Introduction Syndromic surveillance aims at augmenting traditional public health surveillance with timely information. To gain a head start, it mainly analyses existing data such as from web searches or patient records. Despite the setup of many syndromic surveillancesystems, there is still much doubt about the benefit of the approach. There are diverse interactions between performance indicators such as timeliness and various system characteristics. This makes the performance assessment of syndromic surveillancesystems a complex endeavour. We assessed if the comparison of several syndromic surveillancesystems through Qualitative Comparative Analysis helps to evaluate performance and identify key success factors. Materials and Methods We compiled case-based, mixed data on performance and characteristics of 19 syndromic surveillancesystems in Europe from scientific and grey literature and from site visits. We identified success factors by applying crisp-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. We focused on two main areas of syndromic surveillance application: seasonal influenza surveillance and situational awareness during different types of potentially health threatening events. Results We found that syndromic surveillancesystems might detect the onset or peak of seasonal influenza earlier if they analyse non-clinical data sources. Timely situational awareness during different types of events is supported by an automated syndromic surveillancesystem capable of analysing multiple syndromes. To our surprise, the analysis of multiple data sources was no key success factor for situational awareness. Conclusions We suggest to consider these key success factors when designing or further developing syndromic surveillancesystems. Qualitative Comparative Analysis helped interpreting complex, mixed data on small-N cases and resulted in concrete and practically relevant findings. PMID:27182731

The realignment of international powers, and the formation of new nations has resulted in increasing worldwide concern over border security, an expanding refugee problem, protection of fishery and mineral areas, and smuggling of all types. The focus on military services, to protect or defend against these threats of vital, national interest, is shifting to other government agencies and even commercial contractors to apply innovative and cost effective solutions. Previously, airborne surveillance and reconnaissance platforms have been large, mission dedicated military aircraft. The time has arrived for a smaller, more efficient, and more effective airborne capability. This paper briefly outlines a system of systems approach that smaller nations can afford to incorporate in their budgets, while greatly expanding their surveillance capability. The characteristics of specific cameras and sensors are purposely not addressed, so the emphasis can be placed on the integration of multiple sensors and capabilities.

Since the early days of astrophotography, lens systems have played a key role in capturing images of the night sky. The first images were attempted with visual-refractors. These were soon followed with color-corrected refractors and finally specially designed photo-refractors. Being telescopes, these instruments were of long-focus and imaged narrow fields of view. Simple photographic lenses were soon put into service to capture wide-field images. These lenses also had the advantage of requiring shorter exposure times than possible using large refractors. Eventually, lenses were specifically designed for astrophotography. With the introduction of the Schmidt-camera and related catadioptric systems, the popularity of astrograph lenses declined, but surprisingly, a few remained in use. Over the last 30 years, as small CCDs have displaced large photographic plates, lens systems have again found favor for their ability to image great swaths of sky in a relatively small and simple package. In this paper, we follow the development of lens-based astrograph systems from their beginnings through the current use of both commercial and custom lens systems for sky surveys and space surveillance. Some of the optical milestones discussed include the early Petzval-type portrait lenses, the Ross astrographic lens and the current generation of optics such as the commercial 200mm camera lens by Canon, and the Russian VT-53e in service with ISON.

Surveillance is critical for improving population health. Public health surveillancesystems generate information that drives action, and the data must be of sufficient quality and with a resolution and timeliness that matches objectives. In the context of scientific advances in public health surveillance, changing health care and public health environments, and rapidly evolving technologies, the aim of this article is to review public health surveillancesystems. We consider their current use to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the public health system, the role of system stakeholders, the analysis and interpretation of surveillance data, approaches to system monitoring and evaluation, and opportunities for future advances in terms of increased scientific rigor, outcomes-focused research, and health informatics.

This paper aims at developing a new technology that will enable one to conduct an autonomous and silent surveillance to monitor sound sources stationary or moving in 3D space and a blind separation of target acoustic signals. The underlying principle of this technology is a hybrid approach that uses: 1) passive sonic detection and ranging method that consists of iterative triangulation and redundant checking to locate the Cartesian coordinates of arbitrary sound sources in 3D space, 2) advanced signal processing to sanitizing the measured data and enhance signal to noise ratio, and 3) short-time source localization and separation to extract the target acoustic signals from the directly measured mixed ones. A prototype based on this technology has been developed and its hardware includes six B and K 1/4-in condenser microphones, Type 4935, two 4-channel data acquisition units, Type NI-9234, with a maximum sampling rate of 51.2kS/s per channel, one NI-cDAQ 9174 chassis, a thermometer to measure the air temperature, a camera to view the relative positions of located sources, and a laptop to control data acquisition and post processing. Test results for locating arbitrary sound sources emitting continuous, random, impulsive, and transient signals, and blind separation of signals in various non-ideal environments is presented. This system is invisible to any anti-surveillance device since it uses the acoustic signal emitted by a target source. It can be mounted on a robot or an unmanned vehicle to perform various covert operations, including intelligence gathering in an open or a confined field, or to carry out the rescue mission to search people trapped inside ruins or buried under wreckages.

The utility of on-orbit servicing of spacecraft has been demonstrated by NASA several times using shuttle-based astronaut EVA. There has been interest in utilizing on-orbit servicing for military space systems as well. This interest has been driven by the increasing reliance of all branches of the military upon space-based assets, the growing numbers, complexity, and cost of those assets, and a desire to normalize support policies for space-based operations. Many military satellites are placed in orbits which are unduly hostile for astronaut operations and/or cannot be reached by the shuttle. In addition, some of the projected tasks may involve hazardous operations. This has led to a focus on robotic systems, instead of astronauts, for the basis of projected servicing systems. This paper describes studies and activities which will hopefully lead to on-orbit servicing being one of the tools available to military space systems designers and operators. The utility of various forms of servicing has been evaluated for present and projected systems, critical technologies have been identified, and strategies for the development and insertion of this technology into operational systems have been developed. Many of the projected plans have been adversely affected by budgetary restrictions and evolving architectures, but the fundamental benefits and requirements are well understood. A method of introducing servicing capabilities in a manner which has a low impact on the system designer and does not require the prior development of an expensive infrastructure is discussed. This can potentially lead to an evolutionary implementation of the full technology.

Disease surveillance programmes ought to be evaluated regularly to ensure they provide valuable information in an efficient manner. Evaluation of human and animal health surveillance programmes around the world is currently not standardized and therefore inconsistent. The aim of this systematic review was to review surveillancesystem attributes and the methods used for their assessment, together with the strengths and weaknesses of existing frameworks for evaluating surveillance in animal health, public health and allied disciplines. Information from 99 articles describing the evaluation of 101 surveillancesystems was examined. A wide range of approaches for assessing 23 different system attributes was identified although most evaluations addressed only one or two attributes and comprehensive evaluations were uncommon. Surveillance objectives were often not stated in the articles reviewed and so the reasons for choosing certain attributes for assessment were not always apparent. This has the potential to introduce misleading results in surveillance evaluation. Due to the wide range of system attributes that may be assessed, methods should be explored which collapse these down into a small number of grouped characteristics by focusing on the relationships between attributes and their links to the objectives of the surveillancesystem and the evaluation. A generic and comprehensive evaluation framework could then be developed consisting of a limited number of common attributes together with several sets of secondary attributes which could be selected depending on the disease or range of diseases under surveillance and the purpose of the surveillance. Economic evaluation should be an integral part of the surveillance evaluation process. This would provide a significant benefit to decision-makers who often need to make choices based on limited or diminishing resources.

Dengue fever, including dengue hemorrhagic fever, has become a re-emerging public health threat in the Caribbean in the absence of a comprehensive regional surveillancesystem. In this deficiency, a project entitled ARICABA, strives to implement a pilot surveillancesystem across three islands: Martinique, St. Lucia, and Dominica. The aim of this project is to establish a network for epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, utilizing information and communication technology. This paper describes the system design and development strategies of a “network of networks” surveillancesystem for infectious diseases in the Caribbean. Also described are benefits, challenges, and limitations of this approach across the three island nations identified through direct observation, open-ended interviews, and email communications with an on-site IT consultant, key informants, and the project director. Identified core systems design of the ARICABA data warehouse include a disease monitoring system and a syndromic surveillancesystem. Three components comprise the development strategy: the data warehouse server, the geographical information system, and forecasting algorithms; these are recognized technical priorities of the surveillancesystem. A main benefit of the ARICABA surveillancesystem is improving responsiveness and representativeness of existing health systems through automated data collection, process, and transmission of information from various sources. Challenges include overcoming technology gaps between countries; real-time data collection points; multiple language support; and “component-oriented” development approaches. PMID:23569607

Dengue fever, including dengue hemorrhagic fever, has become a re-emerging public health threat in the Caribbean in the absence of a comprehensive regional surveillancesystem. In this deficiency, a project entitled ARICABA, strives to implement a pilot surveillancesystem across three islands: Martinique, St. Lucia, and Dominica. The aim of this project is to establish a network for epidemiological surveillance of infectious diseases, utilizing information and communication technology. This paper describes the system design and development strategies of a "network of networks" surveillancesystem for infectious diseases in the Caribbean. Also described are benefits, challenges, and limitations of this approach across the three island nations identified through direct observation, open-ended interviews, and email communications with an on-site IT consultant, key informants, and the project director. Identified core systems design of the ARICABA data warehouse include a disease monitoring system and a syndromic surveillancesystem. Three components comprise the development strategy: the data warehouse server, the geographical information system, and forecasting algorithms; these are recognized technical priorities of the surveillancesystem. A main benefit of the ARICABA surveillancesystem is improving responsiveness and representativeness of existing health systems through automated data collection, process, and transmission of information from various sources. Challenges include overcoming technology gaps between countries; real-time data collection points; multiple language support; and "component-oriented" development approaches.

A new generation of ultra-high sensitivity magnetic sensors based on innovative micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are being developed and incorporated into militarysystems. Specifically, we are currently working to fully integrate the latest generation of MicroFabricated Atomic Magnetometers (MFAMs) developed by Geometrics on defense mobility systems such as unmanned systems, military vehicles and handheld units. Recent reductions in size, weight, and power of these sensors has enabled new deployment opportunities for improved sensitivity to targets of interest, but has also introduced new challenges associated with noise mitigation, mission configuration planning, and data processing. Our work is focused on overcoming the practical aspects of integrating these sensors with various military platforms. Implications associated with utilizing these combined sensor systems in working environments are addressed in order to optimize signal-to-noise ratios, detection probabilities, and false alarm mitigation. Specifically, we present collaborative work that bridges the gap between commercial specialists and operation platform integration organizations including magnetic signature characterization and mitigation as well as the development of simulation tools that consider a wide array of sensor, environmental, platform, and mission-level parameters. We discuss unique deployment concepts for explosive hazard target geolocation, and data processing. Applications include configurations for undersea and underground threat detection - particularly those associated with stationary or mobile explosives and compact metallic targets such as munitions, subsea threats, and other hazardous objects. We show the potential of current and future features of miniaturized magnetic sensors including very high magnetic field sensitivities, bandwidth selectivity, and array processing.

STRIKING THE BALANCE BETWEEN DISCIPLINE AND JUSTICE : THE COMMANDER’S ROLE IN THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM AND ITS IMPACT ON THE... Justice : The Commander’s Role in the Military Justice System and its Impact on the Military Profession 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER...several members of Congress to propose legislation that would remove commanders from the military justice process. Since enforcement of an ethical code

Traffic Flow Wide-Area Surveillance (TFWAS) is a system for assessing the state of traffic flow over a wide area for enhanced traffic control and improved traffic management and planning. The primary purpose of a TFWAS system is to provide a detailed traffic flow description and context description to sophisticated traffic management and control systems being developed or envisioned for the future. A successful TFWAS system must possess the attributes of safety, reconfigurability, reliability, and expandability. The primary safety premise of TFWAS is to ensure that no action or failure of the TFWAS system or its components can result in risk of injury to humans. A wide variety of communication techniques is available for use with TFWAS systems. These communication techniques can be broken down into two categories, landlines and wireless. Currently used and possible future traffic sensing technologies have been examined. Important criteria for selecting TFWAS sensors include sensor capabilities, costs, operational constraints, sensor compatibility with the infrastructure, and extent. TFWAS is a concept that can take advantage of the strengths of different traffic sensing technologies, can readily adapt to newly developed technologies, and can grow with the development of new traffic control strategies. By developing innovative algorithms that will take information from a variety of sensor types and develop descriptions of traffic flows over a wide area, a more comprehensive understanding of the traffic state can be provided to the control system to perform the most reasonable control actions over the entire wide area. The capability of characterizing the state of traffic over an entire region should revolutionize developments in traffic control strategies.

This paper will summarize some of challenges faced by military students enrolled in an associate and bachelors online program at American Public University System (APUS). The survey results on which the study is based exposed the following problems faced by military personnel: 48.7% had difficulties working around military obligations, 33.3%…

Surveillancesystems, particularly those involving complex data over time, provide unique challenges. They are as varied in design, intent, funding and function as the countries in which they exist. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention define surveillance as ‘the ongoing systematic colle...

Developing nations bear a substantial portion of the global burden of injury. Public health surveillance models in developing countries should recognize injury risks for all levels of society and all causes and should incorporate various groups of workers and industries, including subsistence agriculture. However, many developing nations do not have an injury registration system; current data collection methods result in gross national undercounts of injuries, failing to distinguish injuries that occur during work. In 2006, we established an active surveillancesystem in Vietnam’s Xuan Tien commune and investigated potential methods for surveillance of work-related injuries. On the basis of our findings, we recommend a national model for work-related injury surveillance in Vietnam that builds on the existing health surveillancesystem. PMID:24028255

Developing nations bear a substantial portion of the global burden of injury. Public health surveillance models in developing countries should recognize injury risks for all levels of society and all causes and should incorporate various groups of workers and industries, including subsistence agriculture. However, many developing nations do not have an injury registration system; current data collection methods result in gross national undercounts of injuries, failing to distinguish injuries that occur during work. In 2006, we established an active surveillancesystem in Vietnam's Xuan Tien commune and investigated potential methods for surveillance of work-related injuries. On the basis of our findings, we recommend a national model for work-related injury surveillance in Vietnam that builds on the existing health surveillancesystem.

The Fuel Transfer Pond (FTP) in the Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP) is a strategic point for safeguards. Spent fuels, therefore, in the FTP have been surveyed by the surveillancesystem using the underwater CCTV. This system was developed through the improvement of devices composed of cameras and VCRs and the provision of tamper resistance function as one of the JASPAS (Japan Support Program for Agency Safeguards) program. The purpose of this program is to realize the continuous surveillance of the slanted tunnel through which the spent fuel on the conveyor is moved from the FTP to the Mechanical Processing Cell (MPC). This paper reports that, when this surveillancesystem is applied to an inspection device, the following requirements are needed: To have the ability of continuous and unattended surveillance of the spent fuel on the conveyor path from the FTP to the MPC; To have the tamper resistance function for continuous and unattended surveillance of the spent fuel.

This paper presents an automatic, machine vision based, military personnel identification and classification system. Classification is done using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) on sets of Army, Air Force and Navy camouflage uniform personnel datasets. In the proposed system, the arm of service of personnel is recognised by the camouflage of a persons uniform, type of cap and the type of badge/logo. The detailed analysis done include; camouflage cap and plain cap differentiation using gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture feature; classification on Army, Air Force and Navy camouflaged uniforms using GLCM texture and colour histogram bin features; plain cap badge classification into Army, Air Force and Navy using Speed Up Robust Feature (SURF). The proposed method recognised camouflage personnel arm of service on sets of data retrieved from google images and selected military websites. Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) was used to improve recognition and reduce dimensionality, thereby speeding the classification process. With this method success rates recorded during the analysis include 93.8% for camouflage appearance category, 100%, 90% and 100% rates of plain cap and camouflage cap categories for Army, Air Force and Navy categories, respectively. Accurate recognition was recorded using SURF for the plain cap badge category. Substantial analysis has been carried out and results prove that the proposed method can correctly classify military personnel into various arms of service. We show that the proposed method can be integrated into a face recognition system, which will recognise personnel in addition to determining the arm of service which the personnel belong. Such a system can be used to enhance the security of a military base or facility.

24061 ABSTRACT Many future military operations are expected to occur in urban environments. These complex, 3D battlefields intro- duce many...from ISIM, France, and an M.S. in computer science in 1999 from the University of Central Florida. His research interests are in computer graphics, 3D ...information needed and reduce it to a minimum during high-stress situations. The Shared Information Database The system contains a detailed 3D

Background In 2005, a pilot project was started at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to expand an existing birth defects surveillance program, the Metropolitan Atlanta Congenital Defects Program (MACDP), to conduct active surveillance of stillbirth. This pilot project was evaluated using CDC’s current guidelines for evaluating surveillancesystems. Methods We conducted stakeholder interviews with the staff of MACDP’s stillbirth surveillancesystem. We reviewed the published literature on stillbirth ascertainment including 4 previous publications about the MACDP stillbirth surveillancesystem. Using fetal death certificates (FDC) as a second, independent data source, we estimated the total number and prevalence of stillbirths in metropolitan Atlanta using capture-recapture methods, and calculated the sensitivity of the MACDP stillbirth surveillancesystem. Results The MACDP stillbirth surveillancesystem is useful, flexible, acceptable, and stable. The system’s data quality is improved because it uses multiple sources for case ascertainment. Based on 2006 data, estimated sensitivities of FDCs, MACDP, and both sources combined for identifying a stillbirth were 78.5%, 76.8%, and 95.0%, respectively. The prevalence of stillbirths per 1,000 live births and stillbirths was 8.2 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 7.5-9.0) based on FDC data alone and 9.9 (95% CI: 9.1-10.8) when combined with MACDP data. Conclusion Use of MACDP as an additional data source for stillbirth surveillance resulted in higher levels of case ascertainment, better data quality, and a higher estimate of stillbirth prevalence than using FDC data alone. MACDP could be considered as a model to enhance stillbirth surveillance by other active birth defects surveillance programs. PMID:23270086

first concept, termed Systems Thinking deals with sets of elements in which the behavior of each element affects the behavior of the whole; the...independent subgroups cannot be formed. The key to systems thinking is synthesis, the putting of elements together and considering their connections and

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity of information in the rubella surveillancesystem in Quebec. DATA AND METHODS: Cases of rubella in the provincial registry of notifiable diseases, "Maladies à declaration obligatoire" (MADO), from 1994 to 1996 were matched with laboratory-identified cases and with cases in a reference file created from all case investigation records of regional departments of public health for the same period. Sensitivity and the proportion of cases in agreement were calculated. RESULTS: Compared with laboratories, the sensitivity of the provincial registry was 56%. Compared with the reference file, global sensitivity (confirmed cases plus clinical cases) was 58% and the positive predictive value was 50%. Of the 356 cases reported to regional public health departments, 65% were classified in the same diagnostic category (confirmed case, clinical case, excluded case) by public health professionals and a group of experts (weighted kappa=0.32). Information on rubella vaccination status was missing in 25% of cases in the MADO file for rubella. CONCLUSIONS: Notification of positive results for immunoglobulin M antibodies and viral cultures should be required of all laboratories. Uniform procedures should be adopted and applied for the validation of cases that are reported to regional departments of public health. In the context of the rarefaction of rubella, any immunoglobulin M-positive result should be interpreted using all available epidemiological information. PMID:18159307

Historically, budget preparation processes have been difficult to accomplish. Errors and inconsistencies cause problems for the analyst during budget review. This paper discusses the development and testing of an expert system to aid budget preparation. The prototyping tool, its capabilities, and their application are discussed. Shown are the pilot testing procedures and their role in system development. Current status and enhancements (including software updates and future testing) are also presented. 12 refs., 3 figs.

Electronic article surveillance (EAS) is used in many applications throughout the world to prevent theft. EAS systems produce electromagnetic (EM) energy around exits to create an EM interrogation zone through which protected items must pass before leaving the establishment. Specially designed EAS tags are attached to these items and must either be deactivated or removed prior to passing through the EAS EM interrogation zone to prevent the alarm from sounding. Recent reports in the scientific literature have noted the possibility that EM energy transmitted by EAS systems may interfere with the proper operation of sensitive electronic medical devices. The Food and Drug Administration has the regulatory responsibility to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical devices. Because of the possibility of electromagnetic interference (EMI) between EAS systems and electronic medical devices, in situ measurements of the electric and magnetic fields were made around various types of EAS systems. Field strength levels were measured around four types of EAS systems: audio frequency magnetic, pulsed magnetic resonant, radio frequency, and microwave. Field strengths from these EAS systems varied with magnetic fields as high as 1073.6 Am(-1) (in close proximity to the audio frequency magnetic EAS system towers), and electric fields up to 23.8 Vm(-1) (in close proximity to the microwave EAS system towers). Medical devices are only required to withstand 3 Vm(-1) by the International Electrotechnical Commission's current medical device standards. The modulation scheme of the signal transmitted by some types of EAS systems (especially the pulsed magnetic resonant) has been shown to be more likely to cause EMI with electronic medical devices. This study complements other work in the field by attaching specific characteristics to EAS transmitted EM energy. The quantitative data could be used to relate medical device EMI with specific field strength levels and signal waveforms

Understanding and improving the health status of communities depend on effective public health surveillance. Adoption of new technologies, standardised case definitions and clinical guidelines for accurate diagnosis, and access to timely and reliable data, remains a challenge for public health surveillancesystems however and existing public health surveillancesystems are often fragmented, disease specific, inconsistent and of poor quality. We describe the application of an enterprise architecture approach to the design, planning and implementation of a national public health surveillancesystem in Jordan. This enabled a well planned and collaboratively supported system to be built and implemented using consistent standards for data collection, management, reporting and use. The system is case-based and integrated and employs mobile information technology to aid collection of real-time, standardised data to inform and improve decision-making at different levels of the health system. PMID:26878763

Introduction Following World Health Organization recommendations set forth in the Global Framework for Immunization Monitoring and Surveillance, Costa Rica in 2009 became the first country to implement integrated vaccine-preventable disease (iVPD) surveillance, with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). As surveillance for diseases prevented by new vaccines is integrated into existing surveillancesystems, these systems could cost more than routine surveillance for VPDs targeted by the Expanded Program on Immunization. Objectives We estimate the costs associated with establishing and subsequently operating the iVPD surveillancesystem at a pilot site in Costa Rica. Methods We retrospectively collected data on costs incurred by the institutions supporting iVPD surveillance during the preparatory (January 2007 through August 2009) and implementation (September 2009 through August 2010) phases of the iVPD surveillance project in Costa Rica. These data were used to estimate costs for personnel, meetings, infrastructure, office equipment and supplies, transportation, and laboratory facilities. Costs incurred by each of the collaborating institutions were also estimated. Results During the preparatory phase, the estimated total cost was 128,000 U.S. dollars (US$), including 64% for personnel costs. The preparatory phase was supported by CDC and PAHO. The estimated cost for 1 year of implementation was US$ 420,000, including 58% for personnel costs, 28% for laboratory costs, and 14% for meeting, infrastructure, office, and transportation costs combined. The national reference laboratory and the PAHO Costa Rica office incurred 64% of total costs, and other local institutions supporting iVPD surveillance incurred the remaining 36%. Conclusions Countries planning to implement iVPD surveillance will require adequate investments in human resources, laboratories, data management, reporting, and

An Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillancesystem was set up in Lombardy (Northern Italy) in 1997 in the framework of the national AFP surveillancesystem, as part of the polio eradication initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO). This surveillancesystem can now be used to detect Poliovirus (PV) reintroductions from endemic countries. This study aimed at describing the results of the AFP surveillance in Lombardy, from 1997 to 2011. Overall, 131 AFP cases in Lombardy were reported with a mean annual incidence rate of 0.7/100 000 children <15 years of age (range: 0.3/100 000–1.1/100 000). The sensitivity of the surveillancesystem was optimal from 2001–2003. The monthly distribution of AFP cases was typical with peaks in November, in January, and in March. The major clinical diagnoses associated with AFP were Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS, 40%) and encephalomyelitis/myelitis (13%). According to the virological results, no poliomyelitis cases were caused by wild PV infections, but two Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Paralysis (VAPP) cases were reported in 1997 when the Sabin oral polio vaccine (OPV) was still being administered in Italy. Since a surveillancesystem is deemed sensitive if at least one case of AFP per 100,000 children <15 years of age is detected each year, our surveillancesystem needs some improvement and must be maintained until global poliovirus eradication will be declared. PMID:25483546

An Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillancesystem was set up in Lombardy (Northern Italy) in 1997 in the framework of the national AFP surveillancesystem, as part of the polio eradication initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO). This surveillancesystem can now be used to detect Poliovirus (PV) reintroductions from endemic countries. This study aimed at describing the results of the AFP surveillance in Lombardy, from 1997 to 2011. Overall, 131 AFP cases in Lombardy were reported with a mean annual incidence rate of 0.7/100 000 children <15 years of age (range: 0.3/100 000-1.1/100 000). The sensitivity of the surveillancesystem was optimal from 2001-2003. The monthly distribution of AFP cases was typical with peaks in November, in January, and in March. The major clinical diagnoses associated with AFP were Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS, 40%) and encephalomyelitis/myelitis (13%). According to the virological results, no poliomyelitis cases were caused by wild PV infections, but two Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Paralysis (VAPP) cases were reported in 1997 when the Sabin oral polio vaccine (OPV) was still being administered in Italy. Since a surveillancesystem is deemed sensitive if at least one case of AFP per 100,000 children <15 years of age is detected each year, our surveillancesystem needs some improvement and must be maintained until global poliovirus eradication will be declared.

An Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) surveillancesystem was set up in Lombardy (Northern Italy) in 1997 in the framework of the national AFP surveillancesystem, as part of the polio eradication initiative by the World Health Organization (WHO). This surveillancesystem can now be used to detect Poliovirus (PV) reintroductions from endemic countries. This study aimed at describing the results of the AFP surveillance in Lombardy, from 1997 to 2011. Overall, 131 AFP cases in Lombardy were reported with a mean annual incidence rate of 0.7/100 000 children<15 years of age (range: 0.3/100 000-1.1/100 000). The sensitivity of the surveillancesystem was optimal from 2001-2003. The monthly distribution of AFP cases was typical with peaks in November, in January, and in March. The major clinical diagnoses associated with AFP were Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS, 40%) and encephalomyelitis/myelitis (13%). According to the virological results, no poliomyelitis cases were caused by wild PV infections, but two Vaccine-Associated Paralytic Paralysis (VAPP) cases were reported in 1997 when the Sabin oral polio vaccine (OPV) was still being administered in Italy. Since a surveillancesystem is deemed sensitive if at least one case of AFP per 100,000 children<15 years of age is detected each year, our surveillancesystem needs some improvement and must be maintained until global poliovirus eradication will be declared.

ABSTRACT Strengthening antenatal care as a platform for maternal immunization is a priority of the World Health Organization (WHO). Systematic surveillance for adverse events following immunization (AEFI) in pregnancy is needed to identify vaccine safety events. We sought to identify active and passive AEFI surveillancesystems for pregnant women and infants. Representatives from all National Pharmacovigilance Centers and a convenience sample of vaccine safety experts were invited to complete a 14-item online survey in English, French or Spanish. The survey captured maternal immunization policies, and active and passive AEFI surveillancesystems for pregnant women and infants in respondents' countries. The analysis was descriptive. We received responses from 51/185 (28%) invited persons from 47/148 (32%) countries representing all WHO regions, and low, middle and high-income countries. Thirty countries had national immunization policies targeting pregnant women. Eleven countries had active surveillancesystems to detect serious AEFI in pregnant women and/or their infants, including six low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Thirty-nine countries had passive surveillancesystems, including 23 LMIC. These active and passive surveillance programs cover approximately 8% and 56% of the worldwide annual birth cohort, respectively. Data from one active and four passive systems have been published. We identified 50 active and passive AEFI surveillancesystems for pregnant women and infants, but few have published their findings. AEFI surveillance appears to be feasible in low and high resource settings. Further expansion of AEFI surveillance for pregnant women and sharing of vaccine safety information will provide additional evidence in support of maternal immunization policies. PMID:27159639

system). The poly(ester-urethane) binder is formed at the time of application and is generated via reaction between a hydroxide group carried by a...or biuret form of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) (Figure 3). Coatings “A” and “C” employ organic solvents, and coatings “B” and “D” have sharply...two part coatings. (Potential side reactions not included for simplicity.) Figure 3: HDI based polyurethanes. A) HDI isocyanurate. B) HDI

This study investigates the effects of two technical enablers: Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) and digital datalink communication, of the Federal Aviation Administration s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) under two separation assurance (SA) system architectures: ground-based SA and airborne SA, on overall separation assurance performance. Datalink performance such as successful reception probability in both surveillance and communication messages, and surveillance accuracy are examined in various operational conditions. Required SA performance is evaluated as a function of subsystem performance, using availability, continuity, and integrity metrics to establish overall required separation assurance performance, under normal and off-nominal conditions.

Modern military coating systems, as fielded by all branches of the U.S. military, generally consist of a diverse array of organic and inorganic components that can complicate their physicochemical analysis. These coating systems consist of VOC-solvent/waterborne automotive grade polyurethane matrix containing a variety of inorganic pigments and flattening agents. The research presented here was designed to overcome the practical difficulties regarding the study of such systems through the combined application of several cross-disciplinary techniques, including vibrational spectroscopy, electron microscopy, microtomy, ultra-fast laser ablation and optical interferometry. The goal of this research has been to determine the degree and spatial progression of weathering-induced alteration of military coating systems as a whole, as well as to determine the failure modes involved, and characterizing the impact of these failures on the physical barrier performance of the coatings. Transmission-mode Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy has been applied to cross-sections of both baseline and artificially weathered samples to elucidate weathering-induced spatial gradients to the baseline chemistry of the coatings. A large discrepancy in physical durability (as indicated by the spatial progression of these gradients) has been found between older and newer generation coatings. Data will be shown implicating silica fillers (previously considered inert) as the probable cause for this behavioral divergence. A case study is presented wherein the application of the aforementioned FTIR technique fails to predict the durability of the coating system as a whole. The exploitation of the ultra-fast optical phenomenon of femtosecond (10-15S) laser ablation is studied as a potential tool to facilitate spectroscopic depth profiling of composite materials. Finally, the interferometric technique of Phase Shifting was evaluated as a potential high-sensitivity technique applied to the

Local health departments concerned with early detection of potential terrorist threats are beginning to explore novel approaches to syndromic surveillance. Using the Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS) developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a metropolitan health department in Tennessee and five community partners have agreed to exchange data in order to implement a multifaceted syndromic surveillancesystem for early detection of a biological attack. This article describes how we used EARS as the foundation for implementing a surveillancesystem that encompasses a rich variety of data sources. We address technical requirements for operating EARS, recommend staffing and training prerequisites, describe the involvement of our data partners, and provide details related to data transfer and analysis, review, and response protocol. Other health departments may find this information useful as a general model for implementing EARS-based syndromic surveillancesystems in their own jurisdictions.

Background: Communicable Disease Surveillance and reporting is one of the key elements to combat against diseases and their control. Fast and timely recognition of communicable diseases can be helpful in controlling of epidemics. One of the main sources of management of communicable diseases reporting is hospitals that collect communicable diseases’ reports and send them to health authorities. One of the focal problems and challenges in this regard is incomplete and imprecise reports from hospitals. In this study, while examining the implementation processes of the communicable diseases surveillance in hospitals, non-medical people who were related to the program have been studied by a qualitative approach. Methods: This study was conducted using qualitative content analysis method. Participants in the study included 36 informants, managers, experts associated with health and surveillance of communicable diseases that were selected using targeted sampling and with diverse backgrounds and work experience (different experiences in primary health surveillance and treatment, Ministry levels, university staff and operations (hospitals and health centers) and sampling was continued until arrive to data saturation. Results: Interviews were analyzed after the elimination of duplicate codes and integration of them. Finally, 73 codes were acquired and categorized in 6 major themes and 21 levels. The main themes included: policy making and planning, development of resources, organizing, collaboration and participation, surveillance process, and monitoring and evaluation of the surveillancesystem. In point of interviewees, attention to these themes is necessary to develop effective and efficient surveillancesystem for communicable diseases. Conclusion: Surveillancesystem in hospitals is important in developing proper macro - policies in health sector, adoption of health related decisions and preventive plans appropriate to the existing situation. Compilation, changing

The article describes a method developed and applied by the authors for the purpose of determining the height of subjects taped on video surveillancesystems. The determination of height is obtained by developing a virtual telecamera having the same characteristics of the video surveillancesystem with which the images have been shot. The results demonstrate that height is a parameter that can be accurately estimated with the method proposed, in the experimental conditions described, and consequently, can be utilized in probatory inquiry.

Background As low pathogenic avian influenza viruses can mutate into high pathogenic viruses the Dutch poultry sector implemented a surveillancesystem for low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) based on blood samples. It has been suggested that egg yolk samples could be sampled instead of blood samples to survey egg layer farms. To support future decision making about AI surveillance economic criteria are important. Therefore a cost analysis is performed on systems that use either blood or eggs as sampled material. Methodology/Principal Findings The effectiveness of surveillance using egg or blood samples was evaluated using scenario tree models. Then an economic model was developed that calculates the total costs for eight surveillancesystems that have equal effectiveness. The model considers costs for sampling, sample preparation, sample transport, testing, communication of test results and for the confirmation test on false positive results. The surveillancesystems varied in sampled material (eggs or blood), sampling location (farm or packing station) and location of sample preparation (laboratory or packing station). It is shown that a hypothetical system in which eggs are sampled at the packing station and samples prepared in a laboratory had the lowest total costs (i.e. € 273,393) a year. Compared to this a hypothetical system in which eggs are sampled at the farm and samples prepared at a laboratory, and the currently implemented system in which blood is sampled at the farm and samples prepared at a laboratory have 6% and 39% higher costs respectively. Conclusions/Significance This study shows that surveillance for avian influenza on egg yolk samples can be done at lower costs than surveillance based on blood samples. The model can be used in future comparison of surveillancesystems for different pathogens and hazards. PMID:22523543

Digital video mosaicking from Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is being used for many military and civilian applications, including surveillance, target recognition, border protection, forest fire monitoring, traffic control on highways, monitoring of transmission lines, among others. Additionally, NASA is using digital video mosaicking to explore the moon and planets such as Mars. In order to compute a "good" mosaic from video captured by a UAS, the algorithm must deal with motion blur, frame-to-frame jitter associated with an imperfectly stabilized platform, perspective changes as the camera tilts in flight, as well as a number of other factors. The most suitable algorithms use SIFT (Scale-Invariant Feature Transform) to detect the features consistent between video frames. Utilizing these features, the next step is to estimate the homography between two consecutives video frames, perform warping to properly register the image data, and finally blend the video frames resulting in a seamless video mosaick. All this processing takes a great deal of resources of resources from the CPU, so it is almost impossible to compute a real time video mosaic on a single processor. Modern graphics processing units (GPUs) offer computational performance that far exceeds current CPU technology, allowing for real-time operation. This paper presents the development of a GPU-accelerated digital video mosaicking implementation and compares it with CPU performance. Our tests are based on two sets of real video captured by a small UAS aircraft; one video comes from Infrared (IR) and Electro-Optical (EO) cameras. Our results show that we can obtain a speed-up of more than 50 times using GPU technology, so real-time operation at a video capture of 30 frames per second is feasible.

Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) make up a large number of emerging infectious and zoonotic diseases. Vectors such as ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes parasitize dogs, thus making canine populations adequate reservoirs for infectious disease and zoonoses. The U.S. military deploys its personnel and Military Working Dogs (MWDs) throughout the world with possible risk of exposure to VBDs. Canine VBDs continue to have veterinary and public health significance for the host nations as well as for deployed U.S. personnel and MWDs. Thus, ongoing and consistent disease surveillance is an essential component to preserve health. The purpose of this study was to survey dogs from multiple cities and varying regions throughout Puerto Rico to determine the prevalence of ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis), anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum), Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), and heartworm disease (Dirofilaria immitis) from May to July 2012. Canine blood samples (1?3 ml) from the cities of San Juan (n = 629), Guaynabo (n = 50), Ponce (n = 20) and Vieques Island (n = 53) were obtained and tested on-site using an IDEXX SNAP? 4Dx? (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) test kit. Prevalence for single or multiple disease status was calculated for each site. The overall period prevalence of VBD in Puerto Rico in the shelter population was 57.7% (71/123). In Guaynabo, the VBD prevalence was 30% (15/50); 2 (13%) of these positive dogs had VBD co-infection. In the coastal port city of Ponce, it was 60% (12/20); 6 (50%) dogs were infected by two or more VBDs. On Vieques Island, it was 83% (44/53); 27 (61%) dogs were coinfected. Conversely, samples collected at the Fort Buchanan Veterinary Clinic in the capitol city of San Juan resulted in a VBD prevalence of 8.9% (56/629). Lyme disease was not detected in any sample. This study showed the presence of D. immitis, E. canis, and A. phagocytophilum in all four sites of Puerto Rico, emphasizing the value of surveillance for VBDs to determine disease

Influenza viruses cause annual epidemics of respiratory tract disease that affect all age groups. Many developing countries do not have an influenza surveillancesystem or adequate laboratory capacity for virus detection. The objective of this study was to describe the influenza surveillancesystems in the different countries in the tropics and to identify outstanding research needs. A questionnaire was designed and sent to 52 NICs and MoHs in the different countries in tropical Asia and Africa to gather information on the surveillancesystems, sentinel sites, specimen and data collection, and laboratory testing. Replies were received from 32 NICs and MoHs (61.5% response)--17 were located in tropical Asia and 15 in Africa. There are 20 WHO recognized NICs in tropical Asia and 14 in tropical Africa, all with virus isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing capacity. Of the Asian countries, only Hong Kong and Singapore reported that the patient population from the sites represents the broader community. In tropical Africa, only Senegal has sentinel sites distributed all over the country contributing to the geographic representativeness of the surveillancesystem. The rest of the countries in Africa have just established their influenza surveillancesystem in the past decade and are working toward geographic expansion of the ILI and SARI sites. Limited laboratory capacity or infrastructure to perform influenza surveillance makes difficult to justify the importance of influenza vaccine or other influenza control measures as a strategy for improving population health in the tropical region.

There is a growing demand for an automatic surveillancesystem for road traffic data and industrial workroom environments. These data are required for surveillance and control. The problem of diagnostic intruders in a dangerous areas, knocks generally to the illumination changes. From the beginning of this work, it was stated that, the device had to supervise a robotic environment, in real time, in order to detect the abnormal situations. This paper describes implementation of a fast algorithm of surveillancesystem that performs tracking of robot's manipulator arm and detection of moving objects. The aim of this work is to avoid collision between human and moving machines. This paper presents a new approach of surveillance allowing unpredictable robotics tasks and tolerant independent illumination changes. We present in our paper an original method to modelize the scene by an image spatial sampling and an algorithm to detect moving objects. The detection is based on the observation of changes between a reference and the current images.

This paper describes a Decision Support System for military display acquisition being developed under U.S. Display Consortium (USDC) sponsorship. The core of the system is a standard Life-Cycle Cost model. The system will use World Wide Web technology to make it widely accessible to Industry and Government Program Offices for use in the Display Acquisition Decision Process. Web-LCCA (Life-Cycle Cost Analyzer), a derivative of TASC's LCCATM, has been designed to aid in the evaluation of different Display System acquisition options. The target users of Web-LCCA are display vendors (Industry) and buyers (Government Program Offices). Web-LCCA will be USDC's standard tool for supporting cost tradeoffs and acquisition decisions among current operational displays and new flat panel display products.

1998;4(2):211–9. 16.Smith TC, Gray GC, Knoke JD. Is systemic lupus erythematosus , amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or fibromyalgia associated with Per... systematic surveillance of DoD family births. These projects will enable the US military to better assess reproductive health outcomes in the military and may

Objective Our objective was to conduct surveillance of nosocomial infections directly from multiple EMR data streams in a large multi-location Canadian health care facility. The system developed automatically triggers bed-day-level-location-aware reports and detects and tracks the incidents of nosocomial infections in hospital by ward. Introduction Hospital acquired infections are a major cause of morbidity, mortality and increased resource utilization. CDC estimates that in the US alone, over 2 million patients are affected by nosocomial infections costing approximately $34.7 billion to $45 billion annually (1). The existing process of detection and reporting relies on time consuming manual processing of records and generation of alerts based on disparate definitions that are not comparable across institutions or even physicians. Methods A multi-stakeholder team consisting of experts from medicine, infection control, epidemiology, privacy, computing, artificial intelligence, data fusion and public health conducted a proof of concept from four complete years of admission records of all patients at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Figure 1 lists the data elements investigated. Our system uses an open source enterprise bus ‘Mirth Connect’ to receive and store data in HL7 format. The processing of information is handled by individual components and alerts are pushed back to respective locations. The free text components were classified using natural language processing. Negation detection was performed using NegEx (2). Data-fusion algorithms were used to merge information to make it meaningful and allow complex syndrome definitions to be mapped onto the data. Results The system monitors: Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP), Central Line Infections (CLI), Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. Diff) and Vancomycin resistant Enterococcus (VRE). 21452 hospital admissions occurred in 17670 unique patients over four years. There

military pro- vide fulltime child care for personnel’s children (Brende, 1977; Nida , 1980). Wheatland (1977) discovered problems in offering child...according to Nida (1980). Specific areas of concern in military child care include the following: Overseas Schooling. In Europe, 130,000 American children...NICHOLS, R. The support of Army families during the absence of their-sponsors. U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA, 1g76. NIDA , P.D. What you

Introduction The purpose of this study is to understand dental utilization of 1) individuals serving/having served in active duty in the U.S. military as compared with the general public and 2) individuals who are currently serving as compared with individuals who are no longer active duty, but have been in active duty within the previous year. Methods The Behavior and Risk Surveillance Survey, 2010, was used in cross-sectional analyses to determine the comparisons. Chi square and multivariable logistic regression analyses were applied. Results 70.7% of participants who had served/currently serving had a dental visit within the previous 12 months; 69.9% of the general public reported a dental visit (p = 0.0265). 69.8% of participants who had served/currently serving had a dental hygiene visit within the previous 12 months and 68.1% of the general public reported a dental hygiene visit (p <0.0001). The adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for participants who had served/currently serving vs. the general public was 1.10 (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.05, 1.16; p<0.0001) for dental visits and 1.11 (95%CI 1.05, 1.17; p<0.0001) for dental hygiene visits. Conclusion Participants who are serving or have served were more likely to have any dental visit and dental hygiene visit than the general public; but the results were not substantively important. PMID:26086028

Purpose of Review It is widely accepted that infection control, advanced diagnostics, and novel therapeutics are crucial to mitigate the impact of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The role of global, national and regional surveillancesystems as part of the response to the challenge posed by antibiotic resistance is not sufficiently highlighted. We provide an overview of contemporary surveillance programs, with emphasis on Gram-negative bacteria. Recent Findings The World Health Organization and public health agencies in Europe and the United States recently published comprehensive surveillance reports. These highlight the emergence and dissemination of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and other multidrug resistant Gram-negative bacteria. In Israel, public health action to control CRE, especially Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC) producing-Klebsiella pneumoniae, has advanced together with a better understanding of its epidemiology. Surveillance models adapted to the requirements and capacities of each country are in development. Summary Robust surveillancesystems are essential to combat antibiotic resistance, and need to emphasize a “One Health” approach. Refinements in surveillance will come from advances in bioinformatics and genomics that permit the integration of global and local information about antibiotic consumption in humans and animals, molecular mechanisms of resistance, and bacterial genotyping. PMID:26098505

Background In moving toward malaria elimination, one strategy is to implement an active surveillancesystem for effective case management. Thailand has developed and implemented the electronic Malaria Information System (eMIS) capturing individualized electronic records of suspected or confirmed malaria cases. Objective The main purpose of this study was to determine how well the eMIS improves the quality of Thailand’s malaria surveillancesystem. In particular, the focus of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the eMIS in terms of the system users’ perception and the system outcomes (ie, quality of data) regarding the management of malaria patients. Methods A mixed-methods technique was used with the framework based on system effectiveness attributes: data quality, timeliness, simplicity, acceptability, flexibility, stability, and usefulness. Three methods were utilized: data records review, survey of system users, and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders. From the two highest endemic provinces, paper forms matching electronic records of 4455 noninfected and 784 malaria-infected cases were reviewed. Web-based anonymous questionnaires were distributed to all 129 eMIS data entry staff throughout Thailand, and semistructured interviews were conducted with 12 management-level officers. Results The eMIS is well accepted by system users at both management and operational levels. The data quality has enabled malaria personnel to perform more effective prevention and control activities. There is evidence of practices resulting in inconsistencies and logical errors in data reporting. Critical data elements were mostly completed, except for a few related to certain dates and area classifications. Timeliness in reporting a case to the system was acceptable with a delay of 3-4 days. The evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data confirmed that the eMIS has high levels of simplicity, acceptability, stability, and flexibility. Conclusions Overall, the

The Adolescents SurveillanceSystem for Obesity prevention (ASSO) Project aimed at developing standardized and web-based tools for collecting data on adolescents' obesity and its potential determinants. This has been implemented and piloted in the local area of Palermo city, Italy. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of the Project's design, implementation, and evaluation, highlighting all the aspects for a potential scale-up of the surveillancesystem on the whole national territory and abroad, as a sustainable and effective source of data.The overall structure and management, the ASSO-toolkit, the ASSO-NutFit software, and all developed and used procedures for recruiting, training, and data collecting/analyzing are addressed. An interim evaluation has been performed through a feasibility study; a final Project evaluation has been performed reporting the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) and the attributes that a surveillancesystem should have.This article provides a detailed overview of the Project and highlights that ASSO can be considered a valid, logical, coherent, efficient, and sustainable surveillancesystem that is consistent with countries' needs and priorities.The system developed by the ASSO Project provides high-quality data and complies with several characteristics typical of a suitable surveillancesystem. It has a potential of being adopted within the National Health Service and other countries' Health Services for monitoring adolescents' obesity and its determinants, such as food intakes, behaviors, physical activity, and fitness profiles.

Abstract The Adolescents SurveillanceSystem for Obesity prevention (ASSO) Project aimed at developing standardized and web-based tools for collecting data on adolescents’ obesity and its potential determinants. This has been implemented and piloted in the local area of Palermo city, Italy. The aim of the present study is to provide an overview of the Project's design, implementation, and evaluation, highlighting all the aspects for a potential scale-up of the surveillancesystem on the whole national territory and abroad, as a sustainable and effective source of data. The overall structure and management, the ASSO-toolkit, the ASSO-NutFit software, and all developed and used procedures for recruiting, training, and data collecting/analyzing are addressed. An interim evaluation has been performed through a feasibility study; a final Project evaluation has been performed reporting the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) and the attributes that a surveillancesystem should have. This article provides a detailed overview of the Project and highlights that ASSO can be considered a valid, logical, coherent, efficient, and sustainable surveillancesystem that is consistent with countries’ needs and priorities. The system developed by the ASSO Project provides high-quality data and complies with several characteristics typical of a suitable surveillancesystem. It has a potential of being adopted within the National Health Service and other countries’ Health Services for monitoring adolescents’ obesity and its determinants, such as food intakes, behaviors, physical activity, and fitness profiles. PMID:27015195

NASA conducted a series of flight experiments at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport as part of the Low Visibility Landing and Surface Operations (LVLASO) Program. LVLASO is one of the subelements of the NASA Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) Program, which is focused on providing technology and operating procedures for achieving clear-weather airport capacity in instrument-weather conditions, while also improving safety. LVLASO is investigating various technologies to be applied to airport surface operations, including advanced flight deck displays and surveillancesystems. The purpose of this report is to document the performance of the surveillancesystems tested as part of the LVLASO flight experiment. There were three surveillance sensors tested: primary radar using Airport Surface Detection Equipment (ASDE-3) and the Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), Multilateration using the Airport Surface Target Identification System (ATIDS), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) operating at 1090 MHz. The performance was compared to the draft requirements of the ICAO Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS). Performance parameters evaluated included coverage, position accuracy, and update rate. Each of the sensors was evaluated as a stand alone surveillancesystem.

Over the past few years Los Alamos National Laboratory`s Safeguards Systems Group has been working to develop an image-based digital surveillancesystem designed to provide continuous monitoring of nuclear materials in storage or process. The goal of such a system is to provide automated technologies that will ensure the security of the nuclear materials and ultimately reduce the frequency of required physical inventories. This paper discusses the highlights and low-lights we have encountered while designing, developing, and field-testing a digital video surveillancesystem.

Thermal (infrared) imagers can solve many security assessment problems associated with the protection of high-value assets at military bases, secure installations, or commercial facilities. Thermal imagers can provide surveillance video from security areas or perimeters both day and night without expensive security lighting. In the past, thermal imagers required cryogenic cooling to operate. The high cost and maintenance requirements restricted their use. However, recent developments in reliable, linear drive cryogenic coolers and uncooled infrared imagers have dramatically reduced system cost. These technology developments are resulting in greater accessibility and practicality for military as well as civilian security and force protection applications. This paper discusses recent advances in thermal imaging technology including uncooled and cryo-cooled. Applications of Forward Looking InfraRed (FLIR) systems are also discussed, including integration with a high-speed pan/tilt mount and remote control, video frame storage and recall, low-cost vehicle-mounted systems, and hand-held devices. Other facility installation topics will be discussed, such as site layout, assessment ranges, imager positioning, fields-of-view, sensor and alarm reporting systems, and communications links.

Infectious diseases are a major threat to humanity, and accurate surveillance is essential. We describe how to implement a laboratory data-based surveillancesystem in a clinical microbiology laboratory. Two historical Microsoft Excel databases were implemented. The data were then sorted and used to execute the following 2 surveillancesystems in Excel: the Bacterial real-time Laboratory-based SurveillanceSystem (BALYSES) for monitoring the number of patients infected with bacterial species isolated at least once in our laboratory during the study periodl and the Marseille Antibiotic Resistance SurveillanceSystem (MARSS), which surveys the primary β-lactam resistance phenotypes for 15 selected bacterial species. The first historical database contained 174,853 identifications of bacteria, and the second contained 12,062 results of antibiotic susceptibility testing. From May 21, 2013, through June 4, 2014, BALYSES and MARSS enabled the detection of 52 abnormal events for 24 bacterial species, leading to 19 official reports. This system is currently being refined and improved.

Infectious diseases are a major threat to humanity, and accurate surveillance is essential. We describe how to implement a laboratory data–based surveillancesystem in a clinical microbiology laboratory. Two historical Microsoft Excel databases were implemented. The data were then sorted and used to execute the following 2 surveillancesystems in Excel: the Bacterial real-time Laboratory-based SurveillanceSystem (BALYSES) for monitoring the number of patients infected with bacterial species isolated at least once in our laboratory during the study periodl and the Marseille Antibiotic Resistance SurveillanceSystem (MARSS), which surveys the primary β-lactam resistance phenotypes for 15 selected bacterial species. The first historical database contained 174,853 identifications of bacteria, and the second contained 12,062 results of antibiotic susceptibility testing. From May 21, 2013, through June 4, 2014, BALYSES and MARSS enabled the detection of 52 abnormal events for 24 bacterial species, leading to 19 official reports. This system is currently being refined and improved. PMID:26196165

Background Despite the rising impact of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on public health in India, lack of quality data and routine surveillance hampers the planning process for NCD prevention and control. Current surveillance programs focus largely on communicable diseases and do not adequately include the private healthcare sector as a major source of care in cities. Objective The objective of the study was to conceptualize, implement, and evaluate a prototype for an urban NCD sentinel surveillancesystem among private healthcare practitioners providing primary care in Pune, India. Design We mapped all private healthcare providers in three selected areas of the city, conducted a knowledge, attitude, and practice survey with regard to surveillance among 258 consenting practitioners, and assessed their willingness to participate in a routine NCD surveillancesystem. In total, 127 practitioners agreed and were included in a 6-month surveillance study. Data on first-time diagnoses of 10 selected NCDs alongside basic demographic and socioeconomic patient information were collected onsite on a monthly basis using a paper-based register. Descriptive and regression analyses were performed. Results In total, 1,532 incident cases were recorded that mainly included hypertension (n=622, 41%) and diabetes (n=460, 30%). Dropout rate was 10% (n=13). The monthly reporting consistency was quite constant, with the majority (n=63, 50%) submitting 1–10 cases in 6 months. Average number of submitted cases was highest among allopathic practitioners (17.4). A majority of the participants (n=104, 91%) agreed that the surveillance design could be scaled up to cover the entire city. Conclusions The study indicates that private primary healthcare providers (allopathic and alternate medicine practitioners) play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of NCDs and can be involved in NCD surveillance, if certain barriers are addressed. Main barriers observed were lack of regulation

The Integrated Cancer Information and SurveillanceSystem (ICISS) facilitates population-based cancer research by developing extensive information technology systems that can link and manage large data sets. Taking an interdisciplinary 'team science' approach, ICISS has developed data, systems, and methods that allow researchers to better leverage the power of big data to improve population health.

Introduction Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is a chronic, zoonotic, multi-species disease of cattle caused by Mycobacterium bovis. In developed countries, effective surveillance and enforcement of regulations on bTB control resulted in significant reduction of infections in cattle and hence, humans. However, in developing countries, weak surveillancesystems affect accurate and timely reporting of bTB in humans and cattle. In Ghana, transhumance movement of cattle increases the risk of bTB importation and spread, however, the extent to which surveillance detects bTB is unknown. We therefore evaluated the bTB surveillancesystem in the Greater-Accra Region to determine its performance and assessed its attributes. Methods We interviewed stakeholders, and reviewed bTB surveillance data for all ten districts in the region from 2006-2011 using the CDC Guidelines for Evaluation of public health surveillancesystems. Results From 2006-2011, bTB was suspected in 284/244,576 (0.12%) cattle slaughtered, of which 7/284 (2.5%) were submitted for laboratory confirmation and all tested positive. Predictive value positive was 100%. There is no standard case definition which guides bTB detection. Fifty percent of carcasses slip through inspection, and confirmed cases are not traced back. There were 99/284 (34.9%) condemnations from suspected carcasses and 57/97 (58.8%) from positive reactors from screening. Ninety percent (9/10) of districts submitted reports late to the region whereas representativeness was 30%. Regional and district data were manually stored with no electronic backups. The region's cattle population is unknown. Conclusion Although the bTB surveillancesystem is sensitive, it is under performing, and the possibility of bTB transmission from cattle to humans is high. PMID:28149435

Previous investigations suggest that the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) in Swedish cattle is low and all recent cases have been linked to imported animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the surveillancesystem for MAP infection in Swedish cattle and to estimate the probability that the Swedish cattle population is free from this infection. Calculations of surveillance sensitivities and probability of freedom were made using stochastic scenario-tree modelling, which allows inclusion of information from several different sources, of complex surveillance data including results from non-representative sampling, as well as of documentations of differences in risk of being infected. The surveillance components included in the model were: (1) clinical surveillance, (2) fallen stock investigations, (3) the national surveillance programme (mainly beef herds), (4) a survey involving dairy herds and (5) a risk-based survey targeting herds with imported cattle. Previous or current presence of imported animals and participation in the on-going control programme was specified for each tested herd, in order to adjust for differences in risk. Calculations were made for each year from the start of 2005 to the end of 2008, and this formed the basis for a final estimate covering the whole study period and predictions of future probabilities of freedom from MAP. Results show that when applying a design prevalence of one animal in 0.1% of the herds, the probability of freedom at the end of 2008 was 0.63. At the design prevalence of one animal in 0.5% of herds, the estimated probability is >95% and it is demonstrated that the prevalence of MAP in Swedish cattle is below this level or absent. In order to increase the annual surveillance sensitivity in the future and thereby improve the probability of freedom, new surveillance activities or an intensification of current ones are needed.

Economically and politically disruptive disease outbreaks are a hallmark of the 21st century. Although pandemics are driven by human behaviours, current surveillancesystems for identifying pandemic threats are largely reliant on the monitoring of disease outcomes in clinical settings. Standardized integrated biological-behavioural surveillance could, and should, be used in community settings to complement such clinical monitoring. The usefulness of such an approach has already been demonstrated in studies on human immunodeficiency virus, where integrated surveillance contributed to a biologically based and quantifiable understanding of the behavioural risk factors associated with the transmission dynamics of the virus. When designed according to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology criteria, integrated surveillance requires that both behavioural risk factors - i.e. exposure variables - and disease-indicator outcome variables be measured in behavioural surveys. In the field of pandemic threats, biological outcome data could address the weaknesses of self-reported data collected in behavioural surveys. Data from serosurveys of viruses with pandemic potential, collected under non-outbreak conditions, indicate that serosurveillance could be used to predict future outbreaks. When conducted together, behavioural surveys and serosurveys could warn of future pandemics, potentially before the disease appears in clinical settings. Traditional disease-outcome surveillance must be frequent and ongoing to remain useful but behavioural surveillance remains informative even if conducted much less often, since behaviour change occurs slowly over time. Only through knowledge of specific behavioural risk factors can interventions and policies that can prevent the next pandemic be developed.

Framework,‖ New Partnership for Africa’s Development, June 2005, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/ lib.nsf/db900sid/ PANA -794D7A/$file/nepad-jun2005.pdf...out that because the military used US Dollars on a large scale , the Afghan population was reluctant to trade in Afghan currency. Spending by the...NEPAD Secretariat. ―African Post-Conflict Reconstruction Policy Framework.‖ June 2005. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/lib.nsf/db900sid/ PANA -794D7A/$file

Hepatitis B and C viral infections are leading causes of hepatic cirrhosis and cancer. The incidence and prevalence of both hepatitis B and C varies across European countries. European wide surveillance data help to understand the dynamic epidemiology of hepatitis B and C, which is important for the implementation and effectiveness of prevention and control activities.Comparison of surveillance data between countries in Europe is hampered by the differences in national healthcare and reporting systems. This report presents the results of a survey in 2009 which was undertaken to collect baseline information on surveillancesystems and core prevention programmes for hepatitis B and C in individual European Union/ European Economic Area countries. The results provide key information to aid the interpretation of surveillance data, and while indicating heterogeneity in national surveillancesystems and programmes, they highlight the potential of these systems. This resource has supported the implementation of a standardised European enhanced surveillance programme.

The Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center (AFHSC), Division of Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System conducts disease surveillance through a global network of US Department of Defense research laboratories and partnerships with foreign ministries of agriculture, health and livestock development in over 90 countries worldwide. In 2010, AFHSC supported zoonosis survey efforts were organized into four main categories: (i) development of field assays for animal disease surveillance during deployments and in resource limited environments, (ii) determining zoonotic disease prevalence in high-contact species which may serve as important reservoirs of diseases and sources of transmission, (iii) surveillance in high-risk human populations which are more likely to become exposed and subsequently infected with zoonotic pathogens and (iv) surveillance at the human-animal interface examining zoonotic disease prevalence and transmission within and between human and animal populations. These efforts have aided in the detection, identification and quantification of the burden of zoonotic diseases such as anthrax, brucellosis, Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever, dengue fever, Hantaan virus, influenza, Lassa fever, leptospirosis, melioidosis, Q fever, Rift Valley fever, sandfly fever Sicilian virus, sandfly fever Naples virus, tuberculosis and West Nile virus, which are of military and public health importance. Future zoonotic surveillance efforts will seek to develop local capacity for zoonotic surveillance focusing on high risk populations at the human-animal interface.

This research brief summarizes research suggesting that the U.S. Department of Defense may wish to consider expanding its child care benefits to cover more military families and a broader set of child care needs. [For "Options for Improving the Military Child Care System. Occasional Paper Summary", see ED502782. For the full paper, see ED502783.

The necessity of enhancement of the information component in the military engineer training is determined by the result of a comparative analysis of global and national engineering education standards. The purpose is to substantiate the effectiveness and relevance of applying information technology in the system of military engineer training of…

Monitoring of hospital water systems to prevent and control nosocomial legionellosis is important from a public health perspective. This study was conducted to survey the prevalence of Legionella contamination of hospital waters. A total of 44 water samples from the hot-water system of 11 hospitals were tested for Legionella by a culture method and a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay with Legionella-specific primers to identify the more sensitive method. Some physicochemical parameters and heterotrophic plate counts of water samples for possible association with Legionella contamination were also determined. The contamination rate of hospitals in our study varied between 64% (eight of 11)-100% based on culture method and nested PCR, respectively. Of the 44 water samples examined, 23% were positive for Legionella spp. by the culture method, while the nested PCR assay using the primers LEG448-JRP revealed 66% of the water samples being positive. Given the importance of monitoring hospital water systems for the presence of Legionella spp., the present PCR assay proved highly applicable for practical and sensitive surveillance of Legionella in such water systems. In addition, rapid monitoring of Legionella contamination could eliminate the potential exposure of high-risk patients through effective control measures.

This research focuses on designing an optimal restraint system for usage in a military vehicle applications. The designed restraint system must accommodate a wide range of DHM's and ATD's with and without PPE such as: helmet, boots, and body armor. The evaluation of the restraint systems were conducted in a simulated vehicle environment, which was utilized to downselect the ideal restraint system for this program. In December of 2011 the OCP TECD program was formulated to increase occupant protection. To do this, 3D computer models were created to accommodate the entire Soldier population in the Army. These models included the entire PPE, which were later utilized for space claim activities and for designing new seats and restraints, which would accommodate them. Additionally, guidelines to increase protection levels while providing optimal comfort to the Soldier were created. The current and emerging threats were evaluated and focused on at the time of the program inception. Throughout this program various activities were conducted for restraint downselection including Soldier evaluations of various restraint system configurations. The Soldiers were given an opportunity to evaluate each system in a representative seat, which allowed them to position themselves in a manner consistent with the mission requirements. Systems ranged from fully automated to manual adjustment type systems. An evaluation of each particular system was conducted and analyzed against the other systems. It was discovered that the restraint systems, which utilize retractors allowed for automatic webbing stowage and allowed for easier access and repeatability when donning and doffing the restraint. It was also found that when an aid was introduced to help the Soldier don the restraint, it was more likely that such system would be utilized. Restraints were evaluated in drop tower experiments in addition to actual blast tests. An evaluation with this amount of detail had not been attempted

Methods: Cross sectional survey using a structured questionnaire. Results: Case reporting from clinicians and/or laboratories is the mainstay of EU surveillancesystems for bacterial STIs. Coverage of case reporting varies from less than 10% to over 75%, and lack of and/or heterogeneity in case definitions affect the relative specificity and sensitivity of reporting systems. Considerable variations also exist in STI care sites; the populations who use these services; and in partner notification practices, STI screening practices, and STI laboratory diagnostic tests employed, affecting the representativeness of reported data and the sensitivity of surveillancesystems for detecting the true number of STI cases. Conclusions: The heterogeneity of current surveillancesystems complicates direct comparison of STI incidence rates across Europe. Introduction of standardised case definitions for reporting, and increased coverage of mandatory reporting systems where necessary, are needed. Definition of standardised minimum datasets and use of sentinel and enhanced surveillancesystems to supplement universal case/laboratory notification data, could improve our understanding of the distribution and determinants of STIs across Europe, and aid in the design of effective public health responses. In the context of the changing epidemiology of STIs, systems for detection and monitoring of localised outbreaks of acute bacterial STIs (syphilis and antimicrobial resistant gonorrhoea), as well as prevalence monitoring systems for frequently asymptomatic STIs (chlamydial infection and viral STIs), are also necessary. PMID:15295122

Background: Over the last 20 years, Uganda has piloted and implemented various management information systems (MIS) for better surveillance of HIV/AIDS. With support from the United States Government, Uganda introduced the District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2) in 2012. However, districts have yet to fully adapt to this system given a…

George Orwell's 'Big Brother' and Michel Foucault's 'panopticon' have dominated discussion of contemporary developments in surveillance. While such metaphors draw our attention to important attributes of surveillance, they also miss some recent dynamics in its operation. The work of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari is used to analyse the convergence of once discrete surveillancesystems. The resultant 'surveillant assemblage' operates by abstracting human bodies from their territorial settings, and separating them into a series of discrete flows. These flows are then reassembled in different locations as discrete and virtual 'data doubles'. The surveillant assemblage transforms the purposes of surveillance and the hierarchies of surveillance, as well as the institution of privacy.

This article examines the issue of separation and its impact on military families, including on infants and toddlers. Deployments and unaccompanied tours of duty (temporary assignments and 12-24 month assignments, both without family members, respectively) take military personnel away from their loved ones for extended periods of time. …

This report provides background information and representative scenarios for testing a prototype radiation-triggered surveillancesystem at an operating facility that handles uranium hexafluoride (UF6) cylinders. The safeguards objective is to trigger cameras using radiation, or radiation and motion, rather than motion alone, to reduce significantly the number of image files generated by a motion-triggered system. The authors recommend the use of radiation-triggered surveillance at all facilities where cylinder paths are heavily traversed by personnel. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has begun using surveillance cameras in the feed and withdrawal areas of gas centrifuge enrichment plants (GCEPs). The cameras generate imagery using elapsed time or motion, but this creates problems in areas occupied 24/7 by personnel. Either motion-or-interval-based triggering generates thousands of review files over the course of a month. Since inspectors must review the files to verify operator material-flow-declarations, a plethora of files significantly extends the review process. The primary advantage of radiation-triggered surveillance is the opportunity to obtain full-time cylinder throughput verification versus what presently amounts to part-time verification. Cost savings should be substantial, as the IAEA presently uses frequent unannounced inspections to verify cylinder-throughput declarations. The use of radiation-triggered surveillance allows the IAEA to implement less frequent unannounced inspections for the purpose of flow verification, but its principal advantage is significantly shorter and more effective inspector video reviews.

In Italy a national Plan for the surveillance of imported and autochthonous human vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, Zika virus disease and West Nile virus (WNV) disease) that integrates human and veterinary (animals and vectors) surveillance, is issued and revised annually according with the observed epidemiological changes. Here we describe results of the WNV integrated veterinary and human surveillancesystems in Italy from 2008 to 2015. A real time data exchange protocol is in place between the surveillancesystems to rapidly identify occurrence of human and animal cases and to define and update the map of affected areas i.e. provinces during the vector activity period from June to October. WNV continues to cause severe illnesses in Italy during every transmission season, albeit cases are sporadic and the epidemiology varies by virus lineage and geographic area. The integration of surveillance activities and a multidisciplinary approach made it possible and have been fundamental in supporting implementation of and/or strengthening preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of transmission of WNV trough blood, tissues and organ donation and to implementing further measures for vector control.

In Italy a national Plan for the surveillance of imported and autochthonous human vector-borne diseases (chikungunya, dengue, Zika virus disease and West Nile virus (WNV) disease) that integrates human and veterinary (animals and vectors) surveillance, is issued and revised annually according with the observed epidemiological changes. Here we describe results of the WNV integrated veterinary and human surveillancesystems in Italy from 2008 to 2015. A real time data exchange protocol is in place between the surveillancesystems to rapidly identify occurrence of human and animal cases and to define and update the map of affected areas i.e. provinces during the vector activity period from June to October. WNV continues to cause severe illnesses in Italy during every transmission season, albeit cases are sporadic and the epidemiology varies by virus lineage and geographic area. The integration of surveillance activities and a multidisciplinary approach made it possible and have been fundamental in supporting implementation of and/or strengthening preventive measures aimed at reducing the risk of transmission of WNV trough blood, tissues and organ donation and to implementing further measures for vector control. PMID:27684046

The Design of a Portable and Deployable Solar Energy System for Deployed Military Applications Justin Tyner, Matt Coates, Dave Holloway, Kyle...energy systems and to specifically design a portable solar energy system for use tailored for a deployed military/combat unit. We considered ease...where diesel generators are superior and areas where the solar energy systems are superior. The remainder of this paper outlines our process and

Because of the possibility of an influenza pandemic during the 1976-77 season or at least of a major new epidemic, a national surveillance project for influenza in Canada was established in the autumn of 1976 under the auspices of the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec. The project augmented surveillance activities of the federal and provincial governments, explicitly avoiding duplication of effort and methods. An extensive network of sentinel physicians was recruited from among family doctors in all provinces, forming the National Recording System (NaReS). The emphasis of the plan was to generate the kind of information which family physicians are in a uniquely advantageous position to provide. The influenza surveillance project was the first one for the National Recording System.

The aim of the study was to biotype 59 isolates of Candida (C.) albicans from cardiovascular system samples (blood and intravenous catheter) and 123 isolates of the same species from skin surveillance cultures (swabs of the armpit, groins and intravenous catheter insertion sites) of hospitalized patients using the Odds and Abbott biotyping method. Biotyping of 59 isolates of C. albicans taken from the cardiovascular system samples revealed the presence of 16 biotypes. Biotype 355 was the most common biotype, accounting for 35.6% of all biotype isolates from this system. Biotyping of 123 C. albicans isolates from skin surveillance cultures detected 21 biotypes. Biotype 355 was most common, accounting for 17.9% of all biotype isolates from these samples. The two systems had 10 biotypes in common: 355, 155, 257, 305, 105, 315, 300, 015, 157, and 345. These biotypes accounted for 88.3% and 81.4% of all C. albicans biotypes isolated from the cardiovascular system and skin surveillance cultures, respectively. Biotypes 355, 155, and 257 were the biotypes most frequently shared in isolates from the two systems. These biotypes accounted for 57.7% and 43.1% of all C. albicans biotypes isolated from the cardiovascular system and skin surveillance cultures, respectively.

Objective To evaluate the case-based measles surveillancesystem in Kaduna State of Nigeria and identify gaps in its operation. Introduction In Africa, approximately 13 million cases, 650,000 deaths due to measles occur annually, with sub-Saharan Africa having the highest morbidity and mortality. Measles infection is endemic in Nigeria and has been documented to occur all year round, despite high measles routine and supplemental immunization coverage. The frequent outbreaks of measles in Kaduna State prompted the need for the evaluation of the measles case-based surveillancesystem. Methods We interviewed stakeholders and conducted a retrospective record review of the measles case-based surveillance data from 2010 – 2012 and adapted the 2001 CDC guidelines on surveillance evaluation and the Framework for Evaluating Public Health SurveillanceSystems for Early Detection of Outbreaks, to assess the systems usefulness, representativeness, timeliness, stability, acceptability and data quality. We calculated the annualized detection rate of measles and non-measles febrile rash, proportion of available results, proportion of LGAs (Districts) that investigated at least one case with blood, proportion of cases that were IgM positive and the incidence of measles. We compared the results with WHO(2004) recommended performance indicators to determine the quality and effectiveness of measles surveillancesystem. Results According to the Stakeholders, the case-based surveillancesystem was useful and acceptable. Median interval between specimen collection and release of result was 7days (1 – 25 days) in 2010, 38 days (Range: 16 – 109 days) in 2011 and 11 days (Range: 1 – 105 days) in 2012. The annualized detection rate of measles rash in 2010 was 2.1 (target: 32), 1.0 (target: 32) in 2011 and 1.4 (target: 32) in 2012. The annualized detection rate of non-measles febrile rash in 2010 was 2.1 (target: 32), 0.6 (target: 32) in 2011 and 0.8 (target: 32) in 2012. Case

The main objective of the U.S. Army's Active Coatings Technologies Program is to develop technologies that can be used in combination to tailor coatings for utilization on Army Materiel. The Active Coatings Technologies Program, ACT, is divided into several thrusts, including the Smart Coatings Materiel Program, Munitions Coatings Technologies, Active Sensor packages, Systems Health Monitoring, Novel Technology Development, as well as other advanced technologies. The goal of the ACT Program is to conduct research leading to the development of multiple coatings systems for use on various military platforms, incorporating unique properties such as self repair, selective removal, corrosion resistance, sensing, ability to modify coatings' physical properties, colorizing, and alerting logistics staff when tanks or weaponry require more extensive repair. A partnership between the U.S. Army Corrosion Office at Picatinny Arsenal, NJ along with researchers at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ, Clemson University, SC, University of New Hampshire, NH, and University of Massachusetts (Lowell), MA, are developing the next generation of Smart Coatings Materiel via novel technologies such as nanotechnology, Micro-electromechanical Systems (MEMS), meta-materials, flexible electronics, electrochromics, electroluminescence, etc. This paper will provide the reader with an overview of the Active Coatings Technologies Program, including an update of the on-going Smart Coatings Materiel Program, its progress thus far, description of the prototype Smart Coatings Systems and research tasks as well as future nanotechnology concepts, and applications for the Department of Defense.

The field of Homeland Security focuses on the air, land, and sea borders surveillance in order to prevent illegal activities while facilitating lawful travel and trade. The achievement of this goal requires collaboration of complex decentralized systems and services, and transfer of huge amount of information between the remote surveillance areas and the command & control centers. It becomes obvious that the effectiveness of the provided security depends highly on the available communication capabilities between the interconnected areas. Although nowadays the broadband communication between remote places is presumed easy because of the extensive infrastructure inside residential areas, it becomes a real challenge when the required information should be acquired from locations where no infrastructure is available such as mountain or sea areas. The Integrated Systems Lab of NCSR Demokritos within the PERSEUS FP7- SEC-2011-261748 project has developed a wireless broadband telecommunication system that combines different communication channels from subGHz to microwave frequencies and provides secure IP connectivity between sea surveillance vessels and the Command and Control Centers (C3). The system was deployed in Fast Patrol Boats of the Hellenic Coast Guard that are used for maritime surveillance in sea boarders and tested successfully in two demonstration exercises for irregular migration and smuggling scenarios in the Aegean Archipelagos. This paper describes in detail the system architecture in terms of hardware and software and the evaluation measurements of the system communication capabilities.

We evaluated the sensitivity of the dengue surveillancesystem in detecting hospitalized cases in ten capital cities in Brazil from 2008 to 2013 using a probabilistic record linkage of two independent information systems hospitalization (SIH-SUS) adopted as the gold standard and surveillance (SINAN). Sensitivity was defined as the proportion of cases reported to the surveillancesystem amid the suspected hospitalized cases registered in SIH-SUS. Of the 48,174 hospitalizations registered in SIH-SUS, 24,469 (50.7%) were reported and registered in SINAN, indicating an overall sensitivity of 50.8% (95%CI 50.3-51.2). The observed sensitivity for each of the municipalities included in the study ranged from 22.0% to 99.1%. The combination of the two data sources identified 71,161 hospitalizations, an increase of 97.0% over SINAN itself. Our results allowed establishing the proportion of underreported dengue hospitalizations in the public health system in Brazil, highlighting the use of probabilistic record linkage as a valuable tool for evaluating surveillancesystems.

We evaluated the sensitivity of the dengue surveillancesystem in detecting hospitalized cases in ten capital cities in Brazil from 2008 to 2013 using a probabilistic record linkage of two independent information systems hospitalization (SIH-SUS) adopted as the gold standard and surveillance (SINAN). Sensitivity was defined as the proportion of cases reported to the surveillancesystem amid the suspected hospitalized cases registered in SIH-SUS. Of the 48,174 hospitalizations registered in SIH-SUS, 24,469 (50.7%) were reported and registered in SINAN, indicating an overall sensitivity of 50.8% (95%CI 50.3–51.2). The observed sensitivity for each of the municipalities included in the study ranged from 22.0% to 99.1%. The combination of the two data sources identified 71,161 hospitalizations, an increase of 97.0% over SINAN itself. Our results allowed establishing the proportion of underreported dengue hospitalizations in the public health system in Brazil, highlighting the use of probabilistic record linkage as a valuable tool for evaluating surveillancesystems. PMID:27192405

System IBM International Business Machines NEWS Navy Electronic Warfare Simulator NHS National Hurricane Center NYMEX New York Mercantile ...LIFTING OFF OF THE DIGITAL PLATEAU WITH MILITARY DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS A Monograph by MAJ Stephen J. Banks United States Army...Plateau With Military Decision Support Systems 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) Banks, Stephen

At present, epidemiological surveillance in Spain remains focused on the communicable diseases included in the list of notifiable diseases. However, there has been a change in epidemiological pattern that predominated until the last few decades of the twentieth century. Infectious diseases, which used to be the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, have given way to a predominance of chronic diseases. In this regard, progress has been made in the drafting and adoption of specific legal regulations on public health monitoring. However, Spain has yet to develop this legislation which, among other elements, includes the mandate to organize the surveillance of non-communicable diseases in Spain. This article aims to describe some points that should be considered in the development of a national surveillancesystem linked to existing strategies for the prevention and control of chronic diseases.

Bovine abortion is the main clinical sign of bovine brucellosis, a disease of which France has been declared officially free since 2005. To ensure the early detection of any brucellosis outbreak, event-driven surveillance relies on the mandatory notification of bovine abortions and the brucellosis testing of aborting cows. However, the under-reporting of abortions appears frequent. Our objectives were to assess the aptitude of the bovine abortion surveillancesystem to detect each and every bovine abortion and to identify factors influencing the system's effectiveness. We evaluated five attributes defined by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control with a method suited to each attribute: (1) data quality was studied quantitatively and qualitatively, as this factor considerably influences data analysis and results; (2) sensitivity and representativeness were estimated using a unilist capture-recapture approach to quantify the surveillancesystem's effectiveness; (3) acceptability and simplicity were studied through qualitative interviews of actors in the field, given that the surveillancesystem relies heavily on abortion notifications by farmers and veterinarians. Our analysis showed that (1) data quality was generally satisfactory even though some errors might be due to actors' lack of awareness of the need to collect accurate data; (2) from 2006 to 2011, the mean annual sensitivity - i.e. the proportion of farmers who reported at least one abortion out of all those who detected such events - was around 34%, but was significantly higher in dairy than beef cattle herds (highlighting a lack of representativeness); (3) overall, the system's low sensitivity was related to its low acceptability and lack of simplicity. This study showed that, in contrast to policy-makers, most farmers and veterinarians perceived the risk of a brucellosis outbreak as negligible. They did not consider sporadic abortions as a suspected case of brucellosis and usually reported abortions only to

This report describes the development of novel syndromic cold weather public health surveillance indicators for use in monitoring the impact of extreme cold weather on attendances at EDs, using data from the 2010-11 and 2011-12 winters. A number of new surveillance indicators were created specifically for the identification and monitoring of cold weather related ED attendances, using the diagnosis codes provided for each attendance in the Emergency Department Syndromic SurveillanceSystem (EDSSS), the first national syndromic surveillancesystem of its kind in the UK. Using daily weather data for the local area, a time series analysis to test the sensitivity of each indicator to cold weather was undertaken. Diagnosis codes relating to a health outcome with a potential direct link to cold weather were identified and assigned to a number of 'cold weather surveillance indicators'. The time series analyses indicated strong correlations between low temperatures and cold indicators in nearly every case. The strongest fit with temperature was cold related fractures in females, and that of snowfall was cold related fractures in both sexes. Though currently limited to a small number of sentinel EDs, the EDSSS has the ability to give near real-time detail on the magnitude of the impact of weather events. EDSSS cold weather surveillance fits well with the aims of the Cold Weather Plan for England, providing information on those particularly vulnerable to cold related health outcomes severe enough to require emergency care. This timely information aids those responding to and managing the effects on human health, both within the EDs themselves and in the community as a whole.

The value of any public health surveillance program is derived from the ways in which data are managed and used to improve the public's health. Although birth defects surveillance programs vary in their case volume, budgets, staff, and objectives, the capacity to operate efficiently and maximize resources remains critical to long-term survival. The development of a fully-integrated relational database management system (DBMS) can enrich a surveillance program's data and improve efficiency. To build upon the Florida Birth Defects Registry--a statewide registry relying solely on linkage of administrative datasets and unconfirmed diagnosis codes-the Florida Department of Health provided funding to the University of South Florida to develop and pilot an enhanced surveillancesystem in targeted areas with a more comprehensive approach to case identification and diagnosis confirmation. To manage operational and administrative complexities, a DBMS was developed, capable of managing transmission of project data from multiple sources, tracking abstractor time during record reviews, offering tools for defect coding and case classification, and providing reports to DBMS users. Since its inception, the DBMS has been used as part of our surveillance projects to guide the receipt of over 200 case lists and review of 12,924 fetuses and infants (with associated maternal records) suspected of having selected birth defects in over 90 birthing and transfer facilities in Florida. The DBMS has provided both anticipated and unexpected benefits. Automation of the processes for managing incoming case lists has reduced clerical workload considerably, while improving accuracy of working lists for field abstraction. Data quality has improved through more effective use of internal edits and comparisons with values for other data elements, while simultaneously increasing abstractor efficiency in completion of case abstraction. We anticipate continual enhancement to the DBMS in the future

Sensory information is critical to the telerobotic operation of mobile robots. In particular, visual sensors are a key component of the sensor package on a robot engaged in urban military operations. Visual sensors provide the robot operator with a wealth of information including robot navigation and threat assessment. However, simple countermeasures such as darkness, smoke, or blinding by a laser, can easily neutralize visual sensors. In order to provide a robust visual sensing system, an infrared sensor is required to augment the primary visual sensor. An infrared sensor can acquire useful imagery in conditions that incapacitate a visual sensor. A simple approach to incorporating an infrared sensor into the visual sensing system is to display two images to the operator: side-by-side visual and infrared images. However, dual images might overwhelm the operator with information, and result in degraded robot performance. A better solution is to combine the visual and infrared images into a single image that maximizes scene information. Fusing visual and infrared images into a single image demands balancing the mixture of visual and infrared information. Humans are accustom to viewing and interpreting visual images. They are not accustom to viewing or interpreting infrared images. Hence, the infrared image must be used to enhance the visual image, not obfuscate it.

A U.S. national surveillancesystem for influenza A viruses (IAV) in swine was initiated in 2009 with increasing participation to the present day. The objectives are to monitor genetic evolution of IAV in swine, make isolates available for research, diagnostic reagents, and vaccine development throu...

... each presenter and the approximate time each oral presentation is to begin and will notify participants by September 4, 2012. All requests to make oral presentations must be received by August 31, 2012... Postmarket SurveillanceSystem.'' The purpose of the meeting is to solicit public feedback regarding...

A system and method which partitions a parameter estimation model, a fault detection model, and a fault classification model for a process surveillance scheme into two or more coordinated submodels together providing improved diagnostic decision making for at least one determined operating mode of an asset.

Recent analyses differ on how effective the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) is at improving infant health. We use data from nine states that participate in the Pregnancy Nutrition SurveillanceSystem to address limitations in previous work. With information on the mother's timing of WIC enrollment, we…

A surveillance network is a group of multiplatform sensors cooperating to improve network performance. Network control is distributed as a measure to decrease vulnerability to enemy threat. The network may contain diverse sensor types such as radar, ESM (Electronic Support Measures), IRST (Infrared search and track) and E-0 (Electro-Optical). Each platform may contain a single sensor or suite of sensors. In a surveillance network it is desirable to control sensors to make the overall system more effective. This problem has come to be known as sensor management and control (SM&C). Two major facets of network performance are surveillance and survivability. In a netted environment, surveillance can be enhanced if information from all sensors is combined and sensor operating conditions are controlled to provide a synergistic effect. In contrast, when survivability is the main concern for the network, the best operating status for all sensors would be passive or off. Of course, improving survivability tends to degrade surveillance. Hence, the objective of SM&C is to optimize surveillance and survivability of the network. Too voluminous data of various formats and the quick response time are two characteristics of this problem which make it an ideal application for Artificial Intelligence. A solution to the SM&C problem, presented as a computer simulation, will be presented in this paper. The simulation is a hybrid production written in LISP and FORTRAN. It combines the latest conventional computer programming methods with Artificial Intelligence techniques to produce a flexible state-of-the-art tool to evaluate network performance. The event-driven simulation contains environment models coupled with an expert system. These environment models include sensor (track-while-scan and agile beam) and target models, local tracking, and system tracking. These models are used to generate the environment for the sensor management and control expert system. The expert system

Context: The exchange of health information on the Internet has been heralded as an opportunity to improve public health surveillance. In a field that has traditionally relied on an established system of mandatory and voluntary reporting of known infectious diseases by doctors and laboratories to governmental agencies, innovations in social media and so-called user-generated information could lead to faster recognition of cases of infectious disease. More direct access to such data could enable surveillance epidemiologists to detect potential public health threats such as rare, new diseases or early-level warnings for epidemics. But how useful are data from social media and the Internet, and what is the potential to enhance surveillance? The challenges of using these emerging surveillancesystems for infectious disease epidemiology, including the specific resources needed, technical requirements, and acceptability to public health practitioners and policymakers, have wide-reaching implications for public health surveillance in the 21st century. Methods: This article divides public health surveillance into indicator-based surveillance and event-based surveillance and provides an overview of each. We did an exhaustive review of published articles indexed in the databases PubMed, Scopus, and Scirus between 1990 and 2011 covering contemporary event-based systems for infectious disease surveillance. Findings: Our literature review uncovered no event-based surveillancesystems currently used in national surveillance programs. While much has been done to develop event-based surveillance, the existing systems have limitations. Accordingly, there is a need for further development of automated technologies that monitor health-related information on the Internet, especially to handle large amounts of data and to prevent information overload. The dissemination to health authorities of new information about health events is not always efficient and could be improved. No

This paper discusses the innovation process of the Battlefield Medical Information System- Tactical (BMIST), a point-of-care mobile computing solution for reducing medical errors and improving the quality of care provided to our military personnel in the field. In such remote environments, medical providers have traditionally had limited access to medical information, a situation quite analogous to that in remote areas of underdeveloped or developing countries. BMIST provides an all-in-one suite of mobile applications that empowers providers via access to critical medical information and powerful clinical decision support tools to accurately create an electronic health record (EHR). This record is synchronized with Department of Defense (DOD) joint health surveillance and medical information systems from the earliest echelons of care through chronic care provided by the Veterans Administration. Specific goals met in the initial phase were: integration of the PDA and wireless interface; development of the local application and user interface; development of a communications infrastructure and development of a data storage and retrieval system. The system had been used extensively in the field to create an EHR far forward that supports a longitudinal medical record across time and across all elements of the Military Healthcare System.

In this article we describe the development of an information system for environmental childhood cancer surveillance. The Wisconsin Cancer Registry annually receives more than 25,000 incident case reports. Approximately 269 cases per year involve children. Over time, there has been considerable community interest in understanding the role the environment plays as a cause of these cancer cases. Wisconsin’s Public Health Information Network (WI-PHIN) is a robust web portal integrating both Health Alert Network and National Electronic Disease SurveillanceSystem components. WI-PHIN is the information technology platform for all public health surveillance programs. Functions include the secure, automated exchange of cancer case data between public health–based and hospital-based cancer registrars; web-based supplemental data entry for environmental exposure confirmation and hypothesis testing; automated data analysis, visualization, and exposure–outcome record linkage; directories of public health and clinical personnel for role-based access control of sensitive surveillance information; public health information dissemination and alerting; and information technology security and critical infrastructure protection. For hypothesis generation, cancer case data are sent electronically to WI-PHIN and populate the integrated data repository. Environmental data are linked and the exposure–disease relationships are explored using statistical tools for ecologic exposure risk assessment. For hypothesis testing, case–control interviews collect exposure histories, including parental employment and residential histories. This information technology approach can thus serve as the basis for building a comprehensive system to assess environmental cancer etiology. PMID:15471739

The Electronic SurveillanceSystem for the Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE) enables health care practitioners to detect and monitor health indicators of public health importance. ESSENCE is used by public health departments in the National Capital Region (NCR); a cross-jurisdictional data sharing agreement has allowed cooperative health information sharing in the region since 2004. Emergency department visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) in the NCR from 2008 are compared to those of 2009. Important differences in the rates, timing, and demographic composition of ILI visits were found. By monitoring a regional surveillancesystem, public health practitioners had an increased ability to understand the magnitude and character of different ILI outbreaks. This increased ability provided crucial community-level information on which to base response and control measures for the novel 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak. This report underscores the utility of automated surveillancesystems in monitoring community-based outbreaks. There are several limitations in this study that are inherent with syndrome-based surveillance, including utilizing chief complaints versus confirmed laboratory data, discerning real disease versus those healthcare-seeking behaviors driven by panic, and reliance on visit counts versus visit rates.

military disaster assessment team to El Salvador following an earthquake.25 While these examples illustrate a utility for U.S. military forces in...the volume and quality of planning resources for the U.S. military health systems has grown substantially for foreign disaster response. The second... environmental conditions and reliably restore the social well-being of the affected population to an acceptable level.13 Although the U.S. military has a

Engineering. At present, all but his dissertation is complete. In 1984, he was assigned to Arnold Engineering Development Center ( AEDC ) in Tennessee. His...AEDC’s aeromechanics technology programs. His final position at AEDC was Chief, Reentry Systems Division where he was responsible for directing...SDI. (3:3-1) Before SDI, this system was known as the Space-Based SurveillanceSystem which was intended to provide support to the antisatellite ( ASAT

This paper considers a statistical approach to define pseudo-moving (false) objects in video surveillancesystems by constructing systems of hypothesis with the criteria based on statistical behavioral particularities. The obtained results are integrated in two ways: using the Bayes' theorem or the logistic regression. FAR-FRR curves are plotted for each system of hypothesis and also for the decision rule. The results of the proposed methods are obtained on test video databases.

Abstract Economically and politically disruptive disease outbreaks are a hallmark of the 21st century. Although pandemics are driven by human behaviours, current surveillancesystems for identifying pandemic threats are largely reliant on the monitoring of disease outcomes in clinical settings. Standardized integrated biological–behavioural surveillance could, and should, be used in community settings to complement such clinical monitoring. The usefulness of such an approach has already been demonstrated in studies on human immunodeficiency virus, where integrated surveillance contributed to a biologically based and quantifiable understanding of the behavioural risk factors associated with the transmission dynamics of the virus. When designed according to Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology criteria, integrated surveillance requires that both behavioural risk factors – i.e. exposure variables – and disease-indicator outcome variables be measured in behavioural surveys. In the field of pandemic threats, biological outcome data could address the weaknesses of self-reported data collected in behavioural surveys. Data from serosurveys of viruses with pandemic potential, collected under non-outbreak conditions, indicate that serosurveillance could be used to predict future outbreaks. When conducted together, behavioural surveys and serosurveys could warn of future pandemics, potentially before the disease appears in clinical settings. Traditional disease-outcome surveillance must be frequent and ongoing to remain useful but behavioural surveillance remains informative even if conducted much less often, since behaviour change occurs slowly over time. Only through knowledge of specific behavioural risk factors can interventions and policies that can prevent the next pandemic be developed. PMID:28053365

FINAL REPORT Superconducting Magnetic Tensor Gradiometer System for Detection of Underwater Military Munitions SERDP Project MR-1661 JUNE...SUBTITLE Superconducting Magnetic Tensor Gradiometer System for Detection of Underwater Military Munitions 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c...platform. • For limited platform movement, such as might be expected in an underwater capsule, use of global feedback field cancellation coil may

The Naval Space SurveillanceSystem was developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) during the period 1958 to 1964. This system was necessary to satisfy the needs of the U. S. Government's desire to detect nonradiating space objects passing over the continental United States (CONUS). This system has been operational since 1960 and is the only Navy system contributing to the Space Detection and Tracking System operated by the Space Defense Center, North American Aerospace Defense Command. This system, with no prior information, detects all objects in Earth's orbit passing over CONUS and computes the orbital elements of these objects. This report describes the design of the data communications system that was developed as part of the modernization program for improving the performance of the original Naval Space Surveillance Receiver Systems. Salient aspects of the design include increased data throughput, failure-recovery transmission modes, and message formatting characterization to satisfy the special requirements for system operation at Naval Space Surveillance Headquarters. The design also emphasized an abundant margin of data space for the control and text fields that were nearly exhausted at the completion of the developmental tests.

Influenza surveillance is needed to monitor potential public health threats from the emergence of novel influenza viruses. This study assessed the capacity and performance of the national influenza surveillancesystem in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2014. Data were collected by review of hospital registers and the National Influenza Centre (NIC) database, interviews with influenza focal points at 9 influenza sentinel surveillance sites and the Centre staff, and observation of the sites. Out of 6900 specimens collected, influenza virus was detected in 253 (3.6%), predominantly H1N1 (63%); most of these cases were detected during the 2009 pandemic. The NIC had the capacity for virus isolation and PCR identification and performed reasonably until 2011 when support of the Naval American Medical Research Unit 3 was withdrawn. The limitations identified in the system indicated the need for: more complete data, improved technical competence and trained human resources, updating of the infrastructure/facilities, and the presence of standard operating procedures throughout surveillance.

Diagnostic laboratories are an essential component of animal disease surveillancesystems. To understand the occurrence of disease in populations, surveillancesystems rely on random or targeted surveys using three approaches: clinical, serological and virological surveillance. Clinical surveillance is the basis for early detection of disease and is usually centered on the detection of syndromes and clinical findings requiring confirmation by diagnostic laboratories. Although most of the tests applied usually perform to an acceptable standard, several have not been properly validated in terms of their diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. Sensitivity and specificity estimates can vary according to local conditions and, ideally, should be determined by national laboratories where the tests are to be applied. The importance of sensitivity and specificity estimates in the design and interpretation of statistically based surveys and risk analysis is fundamental to establish appropriate disease control and prevention strategies. The World Organisation for Animal Health's (OIE) network of reference laboratories acts as centers of expertise for the diagnosis of OIE listed diseases and have a role in promoting the validation of OIE prescribed tests for international trade. This paper discusses the importance of the epidemiological evaluation of diagnostic tests and the role of the OIE Reference Laboratories and Collaborating Centres in this process.

As the prevalence of chronic conditions among women of reproductive age continues to rise, studies assessing the intersection of chronic disease and women's reproductive health status are increasingly needed. However, many data systems collect only limited information on women's reproductive health, thereby hampering the appraisal of risk and protective factors across the life span. One way to expand the study of women's health with minimal investment in time and resources is to integrate questions on reproductive health into existing surveillancesystems. In 2013, previously validated questions on women's self-reported reproductive history, use of contraception, and infertility were added to the Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS) by seven states (Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas, and Utah); all female respondents aged 18-50 years were included in the pool of respondents for these state-added questions. Of 8691 women who completed the questions, 13.2% reported ever experiencing infertility and 59.8% of those at risk for unintended pregnancy reported using contraception at last intercourse. The information garnered from the state-added reproductive health questions can be augmented with the BRFSS core questions on health-related risk behaviors, chronic conditions, and use of preventive services. Expanding existing data collection systems with supplemental questions on women's reproductive health can provide important information on risk factors and outcomes that may not be available from other sources.

Military medical facilities of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian, have received the right to provide additional services and have been involved in the sphere of market relations. The strong influence of market relations - an objective reality that must be used for the development of military medical institutions and improving quality of care.Effective commercial activity can improve capabilities of the military medical institutions. This requires constant study of market mechanisms to implement and develop their competitive advantage. The paper substantiates the need for the participation of military medical institutions in the provision of health services to the public on the terms of compensation incurred by financial institutions costs (paid medical services, medical assistance program of compulsory and voluntary health insurance). Taking into account the specifics of military medical institutions set out basic principles and recommendations have been implementing marketing approach in their management, the practical application of which will not only increase efficiency, but also create conditions to improve the financial and economic indicators. This knowledge will help the mechanism of functioning health care market and the rules of interaction of market counterparties.

The Department of Defense has launched several initiatives to improve efficiency and quality of care in the military health system. The goal of empaneling 1,300 to 1,500 patients per primary care manager did not correlate well with Naval Hospital Bremerton's experience and did not accurately account for military-specific requirements. The Bremerton Model Task Force was chartered to assess current business practices, identify areas for improvement, and develop a capacity model reflecting military readiness and residency training requirements. Methods included a 12-month review of patient visits and staff surveys of how providers spent their day, with time-and-motion analysis to verify assumptions. Our capacity results (average, 791 enrollees per primary care manager) demonstrated that objective measures at the local level do not support enrollment to Department of Defense-specified levels. Significant changes in "corporate culture" are necessary to accomplish the military health system goals.

Health surveillance is an essential tool in monitoring health in an armed force and in helping to protect the health of service personnel. This study used a literature search and direct contacts with individual countries to identify and evaluate health surveillance mechanisms used by armed forces worldwide. The study identified several health surveillance mechanisms ranging from periodic health assessments of personnel to complex databases of medical data linked to demographic and other supporting data. Essential elements of an effective health surveillancesystem are outlined, including the requirement that systems are adequately supported and allow the routine monitoring of health at the population level consistently throughout an armed force and consistently during times of peace and during operations. Areas for further research and development include linking of data on hazardous exposures, jobs and the locations of personnel with medical data, and the follow-up of personnel beyond their military service.

The configuration, components, specifications and costs of a state-of-the-art closed-circuit television system with wide application for wildlife research and management are described. The principal system components consist of color CCTV camera with zoom lens, pan/tilt system, infrared illuminator, heavy duty tripod, coaxial cable, coaxitron system, half-duplex equalizing video/control amplifier, timelapse video cassette recorder, color video monitor, VHS video cassettes, portable generator, fuel tank and power cable. This system was developed and used in a study of Mississippi sandhiIl Crane (Grus canadensis pratensis) behaviors during incubation, hatching and fledging. The main advantages of the system are minimal downtime where a complete record of every event, its time of occurrence and duration, are permanently recorded and can be replayed as many times as necessary thereafter to retrieve the data. The system is particularly applicable for studies of behavior and predation, for counting individuals, or recording difficult to observe activities. The system can be run continuously for several weeks by two people, reducing personnel costs. This paper is intended to provide biologists who have litte knowledge of electronics with a system that might be useful to their specific needs. The disadvantages of this system are the initial costs (about $9800 basic, 1990-1991 U.S. dollars) and the time required to playback video cassette tapes for data retrieval, but the playback can be sped up when litte or no activity of interest is taking place. In our study, the positive aspects of the system far outweighed the negative.

Surveillance snapshot: Prevalence of antibodies to viral causes of vaccine- preventable illnesses by state home of record among Air Force recruits, 25 April...previous surveillance period. In addition to novel antibiotic research and development, these trends warrant enhanced local preventive eff orts and...account for this change. Whereas the rate of community - associated MRSA among the entire U.S. Military Health System has moderately declined in recent

The scope of sustained military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan has placed great demands on the Armed Forces of the United States, and accordingly, military families have been faced with deployments in more rapid succession than ever before. When military parents fulfill occupational duties during wartime, military children and families face multiple challenges, including extended separations, disruptions in family routines, and potentially compromised parenting related to traumatic exposure and subsequent mental health problems. Such challenges can begin to exert a significant toll on the well-being of both individuals and relationships (e.g., marital, parent-child) within military families. In order to respond more effectively to the needs of military families, it is essential that mental health clinicians and researchers have a better understanding of the challenges faced by military families throughout the entire deployment experience and the ways in which these challenges may have a cumulative impact over multiple deployments. Moreover, the mental health field must become better prepared to support service members and families across a rapidly evolving landscape of military operations around the world, including those who are making the transition from active duty to Veteran status and navigating a return to civilian life and those families in which parents will continue to actively serve and deploy in combat zones. In this article, we utilize family systems and ecological perspectives to advance our understanding of how military families negotiate repeated deployment experiences and how such experiences impact the well-being and adjustment of families at the individual, dyadic, and whole family level.

The first case of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection was detected in Singapore in 1985 and the first case of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1986. Since then, the number of infections had increased. By the end of 1993, there were 222 residents with HIV infection, including 75 cases of AIDS. In view of the rapidly increasing magnitude of HIV infection, a microcomputer-based surveillancesystem was designed and developed in 1992 to better monitor epidemiological trends of HIV infection in Singapore. OBJECTIVE--The objective was to define a composite model of a successful HIV and AIDS registry that included: (a) patient data forms, (b) patient's contact data forms, (c) data analysis, and (d) report generation. METHODOLOGY--An IBM-compatible desk-top microcomputer was used for the project. The main software used for computer programming and data analysis were DBase IV (Version 1.5) and Epi Info (Version 5.0), respectively. Security features were incorporated into the programme to ensure confidentiality of information and that only authorized personnel could gain access to the programme. MAIN FINDINGS--The system functioned as the National HIV Notification Registry and was able to track notifications, analyse data and enabled prompt dissemination of information. The system was also linked to another database system for tuberculosis to enhance surveillance of both HIV infection and tuberculosis. CONCLUSION--The authors believe that this system would enhance surveillance and provide timely information for national AIDS control programmes. However, the effectiveness of this computer-based surveillancesystem is dependent on an established notification structure with notifications of sufficient completeness for both HIV infection and AIDS.

Video surveillancesystems are of a great value to prevent threats and identify/investigate criminal activities. Manual analysis of a huge amount of video data from several cameras over a long period of time often becomes impracticable. The use of automatic detection methods can be challenging when the video contains many objects with complex motion and occlusions. Crowdsourcing has been proposed as an effective method for utilizing human intelligence to perform several tasks. Our system provides a platform for the annotation of surveillance video in an organized and controlled way. One can monitor a surveillancesystem using a set of tools such as training modules, roles and labels, task management. This system can be used in a real-time streaming mode to detect any potential threats or as an investigative tool to analyze past events. Annotators can annotate video contents assigned to them for suspicious activity or criminal acts. First responders are then able to view the collective annotations and receive email alerts about a newly reported incident. They can also keep track of the annotators' training performance, manage their activities and reward their success. By providing this system, the process of video analysis is made more efficient.

Defence Research and Development Canada - Atlantic (DRDC Atlantic) is currently involved in research on the topic of northern Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). One project, entitled Situational Information for Enabling Development of Northern Awareness (SEDNA), includes research on the exploitation of MDA data in northern areas. One aspect of this research is to utilize wide area MDA data to provide awareness to an unattended, land-based system. Wide area MDA is attained through the use of space-based AIS (SAIS) data, a data feed used by the Canadian Department of National Defence and supplied by the commercial provider exactEarth Ltd. The land-based surveillancesystem used is the remote northern system constructed within the DRDC Northern Watch Technology Demonstration Project. Northern Watch is a multi-year project intended to show state-of-the-art, unattended, surveillance capabilities in the Canadian north. The link between the SAIS and Northern Watch is provided by a research infrastructure that consists of an assembly of data sources, users, applications, and product management techniques that collectively support research in areas such as information management and MDA data exploitation. High-level descriptions of the systems are provided along with elaboration on the alerting algorithm, the notifications that would be sent to the Northern Watch southern command site, and the resulting actions that could be taken by the Northern Watch surveillancesystem.

The emergence of infectious diseases, caused by novel pathogens or the spread of existing ones to new populations and regions, represents a continuous threat to humans and other species. The early detection of emerging human, animal, and plant diseases is critical to preventing the spread of infection and protecting the health of our species and environment. Today, more than 75% of emerging infectious diseases are estimated to be zoonotic and capable of crossing species barriers and diminishing food supplies. Traditionally, surveillance of diseases has relied on a hierarchy of health professionals that can be costly to build and maintain, leading to a delay or interruption in reporting. However, Internet-based surveillancesystems bring another dimension to epidemiology by utilizing technology to collect, organize, and disseminate information in a more timely manner. Partially and fully automated systems allow for earlier detection of disease outbreaks by searching for information from both formal sources (e.g., World Health Organization and government ministry reports) and informal sources (e.g., blogs, online media sources, and social networks). Web-based applications display disparate information online or disperse it through e-mail to subscribers or the general public. Web-based early warning systems, such as ProMED-mail, the Global Public Health Intelligence Network (GPHIN), and Health Map, have been able to recognize emerging infectious diseases earlier than traditional surveillancesystems. These systems, which are continuing to evolve, are now widely utilized by individuals, humanitarian organizations, and government health ministries.

Tropical diseases remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Although combined health efforts brought about significant improvements over the past 20 years, communities in resource-constrained settings lack the means of strengthening their environment in directions that would provide less favourable conditions for pathogens. Still, the impact of infectious diseases is declining worldwide along with progress made regarding responses to basic health problems and improving health services delivery to the most vulnerable populations. The London Declaration on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), initiated by the World Health Organization's NTD roadmap, set out the path towards control and eventual elimination of several tropical diseases by 2020, providing an impetus for local and regional disease elimination programmes. Tropical diseases are often patchy and erratic, and there are differing priorities in resources-limited and endemic countries at various levels of their public health systems. In order to identify and prioritize strategic research on elimination of tropical diseases, the 'First Forum on Surveillance-Response System Leading to Tropical Diseases Elimination' was convened in Shanghai in June 2012. Current strategies and the NTD roadmap were reviewed, followed by discussions on how to identify and critically examine prevailing challenges and opportunities, including inter-sectoral collaboration and approaches for elimination of several infectious, tropical diseases. A priority research agenda within a 'One Health-One World' frame of global health was developed, including (i) the establishment of a platform for resource-sharing and effective surveillance-response systems for Asia Pacific and Africa with an initial focus on elimination of lymphatic filariasis, malaria and schistosomiasis; (ii) development of new strategies, tools and approaches, such as improved diagnostics and antimalarial therapies; (iii) rigorous validation of

Abstract Introduction and Aims Alcohol use is a leading risk factor for disease and injury in Pacific Island countries and territories (PICT). This paper examines drinking patterns across 20 PICTs. Design and Methods We synthesised published data from the STEPwise approach to surveillance or similar surveys for adults 25–64 years, and from the Global School‐Based Student Health surveys and Youth Risk Behavior SurveillanceSystem (YRBSS) for youth. We examined current and heavy drinking, and for adults also frequency of consumption. Using YRBSS, we studied trends in youth alcohol use in US‐affiliated PICTs between 2001 and 2013. Results Alcohol consumption in adults and youth varied considerably across PICTs. In eight PICT populations, over 60% of male adults were current drinkers. Male adults consumed alcohol more frequently and engaged in heavy drinking more than female adults. Similar gender differences occurred in current and heavy drinking among youth. Across 10 PICTs, current drinking prevalence in males 13–15 years ranged from 10% to over 40%. Declines in alcohol use among grade 9–12 students were observed in YRBSS, although the magnitude differed by island and sex. Discussion and Conclusions Alcohol consumption varies widely between PICTs. There are marked gender differences in use and abstention. There is scope in PICTs for implementation of best practice strategies to reduce alcohol‐related harm. These need to be gender responsive and cognisant of concerning patterns of youth drinking. Strengthening surveillance of alcohol use and its consequences is vital to inform and monitor the impact of national and regional policies. [Kessaram T, McKenzie J, Girin N, Roth A, Vivili P, Williams G, Hoy D. Alcohol use in the Pacific region: Results from the STEPwise approach to surveillance, Global School‐Based Student Health Survey and Youth Risk Behavior SurveillanceSystem. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:412–423] PMID:26358376

sultation provi’dtd in the diagnosis of disease. The Center for Advanced Pathology includes such specialized areas as forensic , radiologic, dental and...medical entomology programs within the three Military Medical- Services were-reorganized into a single Department of Defense Organizational Board

Effective arbovirus surveillance is essential to ensure the implementation of control strategies, such as mosquito suppression, vaccination, or dissemination of public warnings. Traditional strategies employed for arbovirus surveillance, such as detection of virus or virus-specific antibodies in sentinel animals, or detection of virus in hematophagous arthropods, have limitations as an early-warning system. A system was recently developed that involves collecting mosquitoes in CO2-baited traps, where the insects expectorate virus on sugar-baited nucleic acid preservation cards. The cards are then submitted for virus detection using molecular assays. We report the application of this system for detecting flaviviruses and alphaviruses in wild mosquito populations in northern Australia. This study was the first to employ nonpowered passive box traps (PBTs) that were designed to house cards baited with honey as the sugar source. Overall, 20/144 (13.9%) of PBTs from different weeks contained at least one virus-positive card. West Nile virus Kunjin subtype (WNVKUN), Ross River virus (RRV), and Barmah Forest virus (BFV) were detected, being identified in 13/20, 5/20, and 2/20 of positive PBTs, respectively. Importantly, sentinel chickens deployed to detect flavivirus activity did not seroconvert at two Northern Territory sites where four PBTs yielded WNVKUN. Sufficient WNVKUN and RRV RNA was expectorated onto some of the honey-soaked cards to provide a template for gene sequencing, enhancing the utility of the sugar-bait surveillancesystem for investigating the ecology, emergence, and movement of arboviruses.

The surveillancesystems have been widely used in automatic teller machines (ATMs), banks, convenient stores, etc. For example, when a customer uses the ATM, the surveillancesystems will record his/her face information. The information will help us understand and trace who withdrew money. However, when criminals use the ATM to withdraw illegal money, they usually block their faces with something (in Taiwan, criminals usually use safety helmets or masks to block their faces). That will degrade the purpose of the surveillancesystem. In previous work, we already proposed a technology for safety helmet detection. In this paper, we propose a mask detection technology based upon automatic face recognition methods. We use the Gabor filters to generate facial features and utilize geometric analysis algorithms for mask detection. The technology can give an early warning to save-guards when any "customer" or "intruder" blocks his/her face information with a mask. Besides, the technology can assist face detection in the automatic face recognition system. Experimental results show the performance and reliability of the proposed technology.

This paper presents the main results from a qualitative risk assessment of information security aspects for a new real-time disease surveillance approach in general, and for the Snow surveillancesystem in particular. All possible security threats and acceptable solutions, and the implications these solutions had to the design of the system, were discussed. Approximately 30 threats were identified. None of these got an unacceptable high risk level originally, but two got medium risk level, of which one was concluded to be unacceptable after further investigation. Of the remaining low risk threats, some have severe consequence, thus requiring particular assessment. Since it is very important to identify and solve all security threats before real-time solutions can be used in a wide scale, additional investigations are needed.

The paper is a survey of the main technological aspects of advanced visual-based surveillancesystems. A brief historical view of such systems from the origins to nowadays is given together with a short description of the main research projects in Italy on surveillance applications in the last twenty years. The paper then describes the main characteristics of an advanced visual sensor network that (a) directly processes locally acquired digital data, (b) automatically modifies intrinsic (focus, iris) and extrinsic (pan, tilt, zoom) parameters to increase the quality of acquired data and (c) automatically selects the best subset of sensors in order to monitor a given moving object in the observed environment. PMID:22574011

Background During the 2009 influenza pandemic period, routine surveillance of influenza-like-illness (ILI) was conducted in The Netherlands by a network of sentinel general practitioners (GPs). In addition during the pandemic period, four other ILI/influenza surveillancesystems existed. For pandemic preparedness, we evaluated the performance of the sentinel system and the others to assess which of the four could be useful additions in the future. We also assessed whether performance of the five systems was influenced by media reports during the pandemic period. Methods The trends in ILI consultation rates reported by sentinel GPs from 20 April 2009 through 3 January 2010 were compared with trends in data from the other systems: ILI cases self-reported through the web-based Great Influenza Survey (GIS); influenza-related web searches through Google Flu Trends (GFT); patients admitted to hospital with laboratory-confirmed pandemic influenza, and detections of influenza virus by laboratories. In addition, correlations were determined between ILI consultation rates of the sentinel GPs and data from the four other systems. We also compared the trends of the five surveillancesystems with trends in pandemic-related newspaper and television coverage and determined correlation coefficients with and without time lags. Results The four other systems showed similar trends and had strong correlations with the ILI consultation rates reported by sentinel GPs. The number of influenza virus detections was the only system to register a summer peak. Increases in the number of newspaper articles and television broadcasts did not precede increases in activity among the five surveillancesystems. Conclusions The sentinel general practice network should remain the basis of influenza surveillance, as it integrates epidemiological and virological information and was able to maintain stability and continuity under pandemic pressure. Hospital and virological data are important during a

protesting, the release of images, and the ability to satisfy voyeuristic desires are real threats to the integrity of CCTV systems and organizations that... voyeuristic landlord who installed a video camera in her bedroom.63 Since there were no laws prohibiting invasion of privacy behavior, the victim...initiated a change in legislation. The change made covert video surveillance conducted for amusement, entertainment or voyeuristic purposes a class D

Capture of surveillance data on mobile devices and rapid transfer of such data from these devices into an electronic database or data management and decision support systems promote timely data analyses and public health response during disease outbreaks. Mobile data capture is used increasingly for malaria surveillance and holds great promise for surveillance of other neglected tropical diseases. We focused on mosquito-borne dengue, with the primary aims of: 1) developing and field-testing a cell phone-based system (called Chaak) for capture of data relating to the surveillance of the mosquito immature stages, and 2) assessing, in the dengue endemic setting of Mérida, México, the cost-effectiveness of this new technology versus paper-based data collection. Chaak includes a desktop component, where a manager selects premises to be surveyed for mosquito immatures, and a cell phone component, where the surveyor receives the assigned tasks and captures the data. Data collected on the cell phone can be transferred to a central database through different modes of transmission, including near-real time where data are transferred immediately (e.g., over the Internet) or by first storing data on the cell phone for future transmission. Spatial data are handled in a novel, semantically driven, geographic information system. Compared with a pen-and-paper-based method, use of Chaak improved the accuracy and increased the speed of data transcription into an electronic database. The cost-effectiveness of using the Chaak system will depend largely on the up-front cost of purchasing cell phones and the recurring cost of data transfer over a cellular network. PMID:23926788

not strictly related to waveform analysis, but is the sum of all his life experience, education , and training. An artificial intelligence system with a...the ground and it’s night then it’s a cheetah . It might also contain information about independently verified sightings, date and time included, which...93943-5002 20. Department Chairman, Code 52 Department of Computer Science Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 21. Curriculum Officer

The National HIV Behavioral Surveillancesystem (NHBS) was designed to monitor HIV prevalence and risk factors for infection among higher-risk individuals, i.e., sexually active men who have sex with men who attend venues, injection drug users who injected in the past 12 months, and heterosexuals living in low socioeconomic urban areas. These groups were selected as priorities for behavioral surveillance since they represent the major HIV transmission routes and the populations with the highest HIV burden. NHBS contributes to the nation's program of HIV surveillance by being the only multi-site population-based system that provides estimates on key HIV prevention measures among high-risk HIV-negative individuals, HIV-positive individuals unaware of their infection, and HIV-positive individuals aware of their infection who are in and out of care. Accurate and precise data on the behaviors in these populations are critical for tracking the epidemic, planning effective responses, and monitoring and evaluating those responses. Reports in this supplement illustrate the uses of NHBS data at the national and local level and reflect ongoing efforts to improve the system and remains essential for characterizing and monitoring the burden of HIV infection and sexual and behavioral risks.

The detection of accidentally or illegal marine oil discharges in the German territorial waters of the North Sea and Baltic Sea is of great importance for combating of oil spills and protection of the marine ecosystem. Therefore the German Federal Ministry of Transport set up an airborne surveillancesystem consisting of two Dornier DO 228-212 aircrafts equipped with a Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), a IR/UV sensor, a Microwave Radiometer (MWR) for quantification and a Laser-Flurosensor (LFS) for classification purposes of the oil spills. The flight parameters and the remote sensing data are stored in a database during the flight. A Pollution Observation Log is completed by the operator consisting of information about the detected oil spill (e.g. position, length, width) and several other information about the flight (e.g. name of navigator, name of observer). The objective was to develop an oil spill information system which integrates the described data, metadata and includes visualization and spatial analysis capabilities. The metadata are essential for further statistical analysis in spatial and temporal domains of oil spill occurrences and of the surveillance itself. It should facilitate the communication and distribution of metadata between the administrative bodies and partners of the German oil spill surveillancesystem. A connection between a GIS and the database allows to use the powerful visualization and spatial analysis functionality of the GIS in conjunction with the oil spill database.

In Europe, meat inspection procedures have been established in the course of the last century. Techniques at that time available were used. This traditional approach has been taken over with the regularisation in the EEC. However, in order to scrutinise this approach as well as to specify modern tasks of meat inspection, a scientific and more basic approach is required and could read as follows: Pointing out the tasks of meat inspection as wanted by the specific society (human health, animal health and welfare as well as a certain quality level of the product). Collecting of particular criteria in order to ensure every task mentioned above. This could be addressed by use of a system based on the principles of Risk Analysis (identification and characterisation of a hazard (or unwanted item), consumer's exposure assessment). Having deduced the required criteria, for each of them an appropriate method must be available. Only then an overall system might be suggested, and only then particular techniques might be discussed. From examples is concluded, that the technical performance of meat inspection must be re-evaluated. Presently a total concept is not available.

Background Post-market medical product safety surveillance is a complex task requiring standardized data collection, prompt adverse event reporting mechanisms and appropriate methodologies to identify low frequency safety threats and risk communication. Purpose To review the design of the DELTA (Data Extraction and Longitudinal Trend Analysis) network study of the medical device safety surveillance. Methods This is a multicenter prospective observational study designed to evaluate the safety of new cardiovascular devices used during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) performed through continuous analysis of the routinely collected American College of Cardiology- National Cardiovascular Data Registry (ACC-NCDR) data elements. The primary endpoint of the study is detection of adverse event rates specific to several classes of new medical devices, including drug eluting coronary stents, embolic protection devices, and vascular closure devices in patients undergoing PCI. Secondary endpoints include the time-savings between the DELTA network detection of a true device safety alert and the time taken to detect the same outcome using conventional retrospective data analysis, overall sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the DELTA network surveillancesystem. Results The details of the study are described including system design, eligibility criteria, methods and components of data collection, data security and statistical methods. In addition, the methods of adjudication and verification following an adverse event alert, overall study outcomes, end points, limitations and potential advantages are discussed. Conclusion This report describes the first multicenter prospective study of a computerized safety surveillancesystem to monitor and evaluate the safety of new cardiovascular devices. PMID:21356331

Hospital discharge records from military facilities and private facilities reimbursed by Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services for fiscal year 1992 were reviewed to identify head injury admissions. Incidence rates, case fatality rates, causes of head injuries, and direct cost for hospital admissions were computed in this well-defined population. For fiscal year 1992, there were 5,568 hospitalized cases of noncombat head injury in the military medical system. The age-adjusted head injury rates for ages 15-44 years are higher in active-duty individuals compared with other beneficiaries (1.6 times greater for men and 2.5 times greater for women). The total cost for hospitalization in this population was $43 million. Private facility rehabilitation accounted for 26% of all private facility costs but only 6% of head injury cases. Firearms and motor vehicle crashes caused the most severe injuries for cases admitted to military facilities. Motor vehicle crashes, falls, and fighting accounted for 80% of the total military facility cost for head injuries. Military active-duty individuals are at increased risk for noncombat head injury. Prevention of head injury in military settings should focus on motor vehicle crashes, fist fights (assault), and falls.

The Department of Defense (DoD) Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System (DoD-GEIS) identifies and addresses DoD vulnerabilities to emerging infections through a global network of partners. Following the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 26, 2004, DoD-GEIS facilitated the DoD medical response and coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. DoD-GEIS partners in Southeast Asia (U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit 2, Jakarta, Indonesia; and Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences, Bangkok, Thailand) rapidly conducted health assessments and established surveillance for communicable diseases that threatened survivors. Preexisting collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and host countries was critical for the DoD-GEIS tsunami response.

Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data have exposed significant sexual orientation disparities in health. Interest in examining the health of transgender youths, whose gender identities or expressions are not fully congruent with their assigned sex at birth, highlights limitations of the YRBS and the broader US health surveillancesystem. In 2009, we conducted the mixed-methods Massachusetts Gender Measures Project to develop and cognitively test measures for adolescent health surveillance surveys. A promising measure of transgender status emerged through this work. Further research is needed to produce accurate measures of assigned sex at birth and several dimensions of gender to further our understanding of determinants of gender disparities in health and enable strategic responses to address them. PMID:24825193

FPGA devices with embedded DSP and memory blocks, and high-speed interfaces are ideal for real-time video processing applications. In this work, a hardware-software co-design approach is proposed to effectively utilize FPGA features for a prototype of an automated video surveillancesystem. Time-critical steps of the video surveillance algorithm are designed and implemented in the FPGAs logic elements to maximize parallel processing. Other non timecritical tasks are achieved by executing a high level language program on an embedded Nios-II processor. Pre-tested and verified video and interface functions from a standard video framework are utilized to significantly reduce development and verification time. Custom and parallel processing modules are integrated into the video processing chain by Altera's Avalon Streaming video protocol. Other data control interfaces are achieved by connecting hardware controllers to a Nios-II processor using Altera's Avalon Memory Mapped protocol.

Risk behavior information is essential for allocating resources and developing effective HIV prevention strategies. Over time, transmission risk information on HIV/AIDS cases has been less likely to be reported to the national surveillancesystem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invited approximately 30 experts in HIV/AIDS and behavioral research from state and local health departments, academia, community-based organizations, and the CDC to participate in a consultation in December 2001 to generate ideas on how best to deal with the lack of risk data. The group was charged with providing recommendations on methods for classifying and reporting risk information and for identifying methods and sources for improving ascertainment of transmission risk behaviors for individuals infected with HIV. This report describes the recommendations and the effects of implementing such recommended procedures on the national HIV/AIDS surveillance database.

Risk behavior information is essential for allocating resources and developing effective HIV prevention strategies. Over time, transmission risk information on HIV/AIDS cases has been less likely to be reported to the national surveillancesystem. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) invited approximately 30 experts in HIV/AIDS and behavioral research from state and local health departments, academia, community-based organizations, and the CDC to participate in a consultation in December 2001 to generate ideas on how best to deal with the lack of risk data. The group was charged with providing recommendations on methods for classifying and reporting risk information and for identifying methods and sources for improving ascertainment of transmission risk behaviors for individuals infected with HIV. This report describes the recommendations and the effects of implementing such recommended procedures on the national HIV/AIDS surveillance database. PMID:12941852

The Mid-Course Space Experiment consists of a set of payloads on a satellite being designed and built under the sponsorship of Ballistic Missile Defense Office. The MSX satellite will conduct a series of measurements of phenomenology of backgrounds, missile targets, plumes and resident space objects (RSO's); and will engage in functional demonstrations in support of detection, acquisition and tracking for ballistic missile defense and space-based space surveillance missions. A complex satellite like the MSX has several constraints imposed on its operation by the sensors, the supporting instrumentation, power resources, data recording capability, communications and the environment in which all these operate. This paper describes the implementation of an opportunity and feasibility analysis system, developed at Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, specifically to support the experiments of the Principal Investigator for space-based surveillance.

*avella@ur.rochester.edu Design study for a 16x zoom lens system for visible surveillance camera Anthony Vella*, Heng Li, Yang Zhao, Isaac Trumper, Gustavo A. Gandara-Montano, Di Xu, Daniel K. Nikolov, Changchen Chen, Nicolas S. Brown, Andres Guevara-Torres, Hae Won Jung, Jacob Reimers, Julie Bentley The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Wilmot Building, 275 Hutchison Rd, Rochester, NY, USA 14627-0186 ABSTRACT High zoom ratio zoom lenses have extensive applications in broadcasting, cinema, and surveillance. Here, we present a design study on a 16x zoom lens with 4 groups (including two internal moving groups), designed for, but not limited to, a visible spectrum surveillance camera. Fifteen different solutions were discovered with nearly diffraction limited performance, using PNPX or PNNP design forms with the stop located in either the third or fourth group. Some interesting patterns and trends in the summarized results include the following: (a) in designs with such a large zoom ratio, the potential of locating the aperture stop in the front half of the system is limited, with ray height variations through zoom necessitating a very large lens diameter; (b) in many cases, the lens zoom motion has significant freedom to vary due to near zero total power in the middle two groups; and (c) we discuss the trade-offs between zoom configuration, stop location, packaging factors, and zoom group aberration sensitivity.

In order to provide a timely means of identifying new or unexpected toxicities which may occur as a result of occupational exposures, the United States Department of Energy is currently developing a system of routine morbidity surveillance at selected nuclear facilities. Examination of surveillance data at the Hanford Site identified a possible increase in breast cancer incidence (based on three observed cases) among women working in the nuclear trades compared to all other women at the site (relative risk = 3.1; exact 95% confidence interval = 0.7-9.7). This triggered a more detailed investigation using a nested case-control design and individual dosimetry readings. Information on nineteen breast cancer cases occurring at the site between 1984 and 1989 and 71 matched controls were abstracted from existing occupational medicine, administrative, and health physics records. Summary variables for cumulative, average, and peak external radiation dose equivalents were calculated after allowing for 1 y and 10 y induction and latency periods. There was no evidence that the observed excess was due to radiation exposure. Since the surveillancesystem is designed to be ongoing, continued monitoring of breast cancer rates in this occupational group will be carried out, and more appropriately detailed studies begun if consistently elevated rates are observed.

The purpose of this study was to describe the emergence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in a district of Sri Lanka, documented at the national level as having zero incidence. We analyzed data from the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) to describe reported cases of cutaneous leishmaniasis for all armed forces personnel located in all 24 districts of Sri Lanka. These data are not included in the National SurveillanceSystem. From January 2011 through February 2013, 314 armed forces personnel were confirmed as having leishmaniasis. Of these, 223 (81.4%) were working within the district of Mullaitivu at the time of investigation and another 21 (6.5%) reported that the lesion first appeared when they were working in Mullaitivu. The reported cumulative annual incidence of leishmaniasis among the army population was 7.5 per 10000, while in the general area of Mullaitivu the incidence was 234 per 10000. Leishmaniasis is emerging in epidemic proportions in Mullaitivu and is still not detected through the public health surveillancesystem. Urgent attention directed at disease surveillance and control activities is needed to control this emerging public health threat.

This report describes the design and implementation of the Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS) system, a computer-based public health surveillancesystem for early detection of disease outbreaks. Hospitals send RODS data from clinical encounters over virtual private networks and leased lines using the Health Level 7 (HL7) message protocol. The data are sent in real time. RODS automatically classifies the registration chief complaint from the visit into one of seven syndrome categories using Bayesian classifiers. It stores the data in a relational database, aggregates the data for analysis using data warehousing techniques, applies univariate and multivariate statistical detection algorithms to the data, and alerts users of when the algorithms identify anomalous patterns in the syndrome counts. RODS also has a Web-based user interface that supports temporal and spatial analyses. RODS processes sales of over-the-counter health care products in a similar manner but receives such data in batch mode on a daily basis. RODS was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics and currently operates in two states-Pennsylvania and Utah. It has been and continues to be a resource for implementing, evaluating, and applying new methods of public health surveillance.

This report describes the design and implementation of the Real-time Outbreak and Disease Surveillance (RODS) system, a computer-based public health surveillancesystem for early detection of disease outbreaks. Hospitals send RODS data from clinical encounters over virtual private networks and leased lines using the Health Level 7 (HL7) message protocol. The data are sent in real time. RODS automatically classifies the registration chief complaint from the visit into one of seven syndrome categories using Bayesian classifiers. It stores the data in a relational database, aggregates the data for analysis using data warehousing techniques, applies univariate and multivariate statistical detection algorithms to the data, and alerts users of when the algorithms identify anomalous patterns in the syndrome counts. RODS also has a Web-based user interface that supports temporal and spatial analyses. RODS processes sales of over-the-counter health care products in a similar manner but receives such data in batch mode on a daily basis. RODS was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics and currently operates in two states—Pennsylvania and Utah. It has been and continues to be a resource for implementing, evaluating, and applying new methods of public health surveillance. PMID:12807803

Background In Taiwan, around 1,500 cases of dengue fever are reported annually and incidence has been increasing over time. A national web-based Notifiable Diseases SurveillanceSystem (NDSS) has been in operation since 1997 to monitor incidence and trends and support case and outbreak management. We present the findings of an evaluation of the NDSS to ascertain the extent to which dengue fever surveillance objectives are being achieved. Methodology We extracted the NDSS data on all laboratory-confirmed dengue fever cases reported during 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012 to assess and describe key system attributes based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveillance evaluation guidelines. The system’s structure and processes were delineated and operational staff interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Crude and age-adjusted incidence rates were calculated and key demographic variables were summarised to describe reporting activity. Data completeness and validity were described across several variables. Principal Findings Of 5,072 laboratory-confirmed dengue fever cases reported during 2010–2012, 4,740 (93%) were reported during July to December. The system was judged to be simple due to its minimal reporting steps. Data collected on key variables were correctly formatted and usable in > 90% of cases, demonstrating good data completeness and validity. The information collected was considered relevant by users with high acceptability. Adherence to guidelines for 24-hour reporting was 99%. Of 720 cases (14%) recorded as travel-related, 111 (15%) had an onset >14 days after return, highlighting the potential for misclassification. Information on hospitalization was missing for 22% of cases. The calculated PVP was 43%. Conclusions/Significance The NDSS for dengue fever surveillance is a robust, well maintained and acceptable system that supports the collection of complete and valid data needed to achieve the surveillance objectives. The

the Director, James Hosek. He can be reached by email at James_Hosek@rand.org; by phone at 310-393-0411, extension 7183; or by mail at the RAND...recruitment and missed recruitment targets, the military increased cash compensation levels and expanded retirement benefits ( Williams , 2004; CBO, 2007...These changes have been credited for at least part of the increased recruiting levels between 1998 and 2003 ( Williams , 2004). Studies have also found

for leadership “to recognize and react to environment change before the pain of a crisis.” Sullivan argues that this is very difficult. “Without a...open plains of Europe, the open deserts of the Middle East, or the open steppes of China. It is spine- tingling to think that the U.S. Army has...change. If a belief or sensation 165 Murray, Military Innovation in the Interwar Period, 323

An 18 month trial was conducted in three districts of Arusha region, northern Tanzania, to assess the use of community-based animal health workers (CAHWs) in an official disease surveillancesystem. Disease reports provided by CAHWs were assessed using six indicators for effective disease surveillance, i.e. sensitivity, specificity, timeliness, representativeness, simplicity and acceptability. To assess sustainability issues and determine the incentives required by CAHWs to report disease, three different incentive models were tested in the trial. None of the incentive models involved direct payments to CAHWs. Before involving CAHWs in disease surveillance in the three trial districts, disease case reports as a proportion of cattle population were 0.13%, 0.20% and 0.12%. During the trial, disease case reports as a proportion of cattle population increased to 5.0%, 5.6% and 6.3%. The CAHWs also improved the spatial and temporal coverage of the disease surveillancesystem and provided timely reports. During the trial, national-level disease reporting in Tanzania increased by 17% owing to the sensitisation and support activities of the Pan African Programme for the Control of Epizootics in Tanzania. In Arusha region, disease reporting increased by 118%, and 49% of this improvement was attributable to increased reporting in the three trial districts. Reporting from these districts far exceeded that from any other district in Tanzania. Veterinarians confirmed the CAHWs' clinical diagnosis in 88% of the 170 clinical cases examined. The increase in disease reporting resulting from CAHW activities was sufficient to enable the national epidemiology unit to achieve its target in relation to World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines. The authors conclude that the use of CAHWs should be promoted in the national strategy for disease reporting. Additionally, CAHWs must be brought under the control of the Tanzanian veterinary authorities, a process that will include

Standards Organization (SISO) provides a collaborative environment for exchange of information about...19th ICCRTS “C2 Agility: Lessons Learned from Research and Operations” Advances in Systems and...Their vision is a future where military organizations can link their C2 and simulation systems without special preparation in support of coalition

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act recently passed into law is poised to profoundly affect the provision of medical care in the United States. In today's environment, the foundation for most ongoing comparative effectiveness research is financial claims data. However, there is an alternative that possesses much richer data. That alternative, uniquely positioned to serve as a test system for national health reform efforts, is the Department of Defense Military Health System. This article describes how to leverage the Military Health System and provide effective solutions to current health care reform challenges in the United States.

The epidemiology of West Nile disease (WND) is influenced by multiple ecological factors and, therefore, integrated surveillancesystems are needed for early detecting the infection and activating consequent control actions. As different animal species have different importance in the maintenance and in the spread of the infection, a multispecies surveillance approach is required. An integrated and comprehensive surveillancesystem is in place in Italy aiming at early detecting the virus introduction, monitoring the possible infection spread, and implementing preventive measures for human health. This paper describes the integrated surveillancesystem for WND in Italy, which incorporates data from veterinary and human side in order to evaluate the burden of infection in animals and humans and provide the public health authorities at regional and national levels with the information needed for a fine tune response.

The epidemiology of West Nile disease (WND) is influenced by multiple ecological factors and, therefore, integrated surveillancesystems are needed for early detecting the infection and activating consequent control actions. As different animal species have different importance in the maintenance and in the spread of the infection, a multispecies surveillance approach is required. An integrated and comprehensive surveillancesystem is in place in Italy aiming at early detecting the virus introduction, monitoring the possible infection spread, and implementing preventive measures for human health. This paper describes the integrated surveillancesystem for WND in Italy, which incorporates data from veterinary and human side in order to evaluate the burden of infection in animals and humans and provide the public health authorities at regional and national levels with the information needed for a fine tune response. PMID:25874224

Objective: To evaluate the influence of data quality on the sensitivity of early warning syndromic surveillancesystem based on medical institutions in Qianjiang, Hubei province and explore the relationship between data quality and sensitivity of early warning of the system. Methods: The delay reporting rate and underreporting rate were calculated for the evaluation of the data quality. Data obtained from semi-synthetic simulated outbreak and area under the curve (AUC) were used in combination to test the sensitivity of early warning of various models and select the optimal model. Time-series generalized additive model (GAM) was used to analyze the curve fitting and threshold effect between data quality and early warning sensitivity of the system. Results: A total of 179 905 cases were reported from April 1, 2012 to January 31, 2014, in which 8 744 were not reported timely (16.45%). Averagely 416 reporting were delayed in each month. There were 2 566 cases which were underreported (4.83%). Compared with other early warning models, i.e. Cumulative Sum (CUSUM), Shewhart, Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA), Early Aberration Reporting System (EARS-3C), the MA model had the maximum area under the curve (AUC=0.93), and the difference was significant (P<0.001). The early warning sensitivity ranged from 84.89% to 97.25% during the operation period of the syndromic surveillancesystem. Underreporting had influence on early warning sensitivity, when underreporting rate was over 2.78%, the sensitivity would decrease obviously. No obvious associations were observed between the delay reporting rate and early warning sensitivity of the system. Conclusion: The data quality had influence on the early warning sensitivity of the syndromic surveillancesystem based on medical institution in Qianjiang. In the context of this study, underreporting had the main influence on the sensitivity of early warning.

The Ifakara Rural HDSS (125,000 people) was set up in 1996 for a trial of the effectiveness of social marketing of bed nets on morbidity and mortality of children aged under 5 years, whereas the Ifakara Urban HDSS (45,000 people) since 2007 has provided demographic indicators for a typical small urban centre setting. Jointly they form the Ifakara HDSS (IHDSS), located in the Kilombero valley in south-east Tanzania. Socio-demographic data are collected twice a year. Current malaria work focuses on phase IV studies for antimalarials and on determinants of fine-scale variation of pathogen transmission risk, to inform malaria elimination strategies. The IHDSS is also used to describe the epidemiology and health system aspects of maternal, neonatal and child health and for intervention trials at individual and health systems levels. More recently, IHDSS researchers have studied epidemiology, health-seeking and national programme effectiveness for chronic health problems of adults and older people, including for HIV, tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases. A focus on understanding vulnerability and designing methods to enhance equity in access to services are cross-cutting themes in our work. Unrestricted access to core IHDSS data is in preparation, through INDEPTH iSHARE [www.indepth-ishare.org] and the IHI data portal [http://data.ihi.or.tz/index.php/catalog/central].

We sought to describe risk factors for latex glove allergy symptoms among health care workers by combining data from an active clinical surveillance program and a comprehensive occupational health surveillancesystem. A total of 4,584 employers completed a latex allergy questionnaire. Six percent (n = 276) of subjects reported symptoms consistent with latex allergy. Years of latex glove use was a significant risk factor for latex allergy symptoms even after controlling for the effects of atopy, gender, age, race, fruit, and other allergies. Nurses, medical or lab technicians, physician's assistants, other clinical professionals, and housekeepers had the highest prevalence of latex glove allergy symptoms. Forty subjects (0.87%) who were confirmed as having latex sensitization. Sensitizsation may have been underestimated due to use of specific IgE antibody, less sensitive than skin-prick testing, and tiered design leading to laboratory assessment on a subset of the cohort. This surveillance program identified risk factors for latex allergy symptoms. Our findings provide a basis for tailoring future prevention strategies.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a growing public health concern in Europe and there is a need to develop more efficient early detection systems. Nervous signs in horses are considered to be an early indicator of WNV and, using them in a syndromic surveillancesystem, might be relevant. In our study, we assessed whether or not data collected by the passive French surveillancesystem for the surveillance of equine diseases can be used routinely for the detection of WNV. We tested several pre-processing methods and detection algorithms based on regression. We evaluated system performances using simulated and authentic data and compared them to those of the surveillancesystem currently in place. Our results show that the current detection algorithm provided similar performances to those tested using simulated and real data. However, regression models can be easily and better adapted to surveillance objectives. The detection performances obtained were compatible with the early detection of WNV outbreaks in France (i.e. sensitivity 98%, specificity >94%, timeliness 2·5 weeks and around four false alarms per year) but further work is needed to determine the most suitable alarm threshold for WNV surveillance in France using cost-efficiency analysis.

This paper deals with the question which contribution to the pig health care decision-making process might be provided by monitoring and surveillancesystems (MOSS). The principles of such systems and potential applications at the administrative level, public health level and primary producers' level are presented together with indications about possibilities and limitations. The different application levels are determined by the respective objectives and the different types of diseases. It is concluded that MOSS can positively contribute to the pig health care but under strict conditions and not in all cases.

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

This military-developed text consists of four volumes of materials for use by those studying to become apprentice heating system specialists. Covered in the individual volumes are the following topics: related subjects (basic electricity, electrical controls, pipe and copper tubing, the principles of heating, fuels, and fuel systems); heating…

People in nearly ever occupational setting can provide examples of poor system design. The focus for this paper is on an analysis of design problems found in complex military command and control systems and the ways in which these types of problems can be avoided in future system design. The source of data for this analysis was a group of case studies of sixteen U.S. militarysystems written by officer-students at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Systems analyzed span the four military services and include aircraft systems, communications systems, the M-16 rifle, a missile defense system, a message processing system, weapon systems, and decision support systems. Documented problems with system use were categorized according to the following measures of effectiveness: Performance, Safety, Usability, Reliability, Maintainability, Time and Cost to Train, and Workload. The number of problems encountered per system ranged from one to nine; the mean number of reported problems per system was 4.9 IEEE 1220-1998 includes a revised systems engineering approach with an increased emphasis on engineering the system for the human. Adhering to a user-centered design approach should have a positive impact on system design by significantly reducing the types of system problems described in this paper.

measure. We examined variations in quality measure rates by service branch (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy) and TRICARE region (North, South...T15a and T15b), Army and 76 Quality of Care for PTSD and Depression in the Military Health System Air Force members showed much higher rates of...C O R P O R A T I O N Quality of Care for PTSD and Depression in the Military Health System Phase I Report Kimberly A. Hepner, Elizabeth M. Sloss

The farming of Pacific white shrimp Litopennaeus vannamei in northeast Brazil, has proven to be a promising sector. However, the farming of Pacific white shrimp in Brazil has been affected negatively by the occurrence of viral diseases, threatening this sector's expansion and sustainability. For this reason, the drafting of a surveillancesystem for early detection and definition of freedom from viral diseases, whose occurrence could result in high economic loses, is of the utmost importance. The stochastic model AquaVigil was implemented to prospectively evaluate different surveillance strategies to determine freedom from disease and identify the strategy with the lowest sampling efforts, making the best use of available resources through risk-based surveillance. The worked example presented was designed for regional application for the state of Ceará and can easily be applied to other Brazilian states. The AquaVigil model can analyse any risk-based surveillancesystem that considers a similar outline to the strategy here presented.

Objectives Illegal drug use continues to be a major threat to community health and safety. We used international drug surveillance databases to assess the relationship between multiple long-term estimates of illegal drug price and purity. Design We systematically searched for longitudinal measures of illegal drug supply indicators to assess the long-term impact of enforcement-based supply reduction interventions. Setting Data from identified illegal drug surveillancesystems were analysed using an a priori defined protocol in which we sought to present annual estimates beginning in 1990. Data were then subjected to trend analyses. Main outcome measures Data were obtained from government surveillancesystems assessing price, purity and/or seizure quantities of illegal drugs; systems with at least 10 years of longitudinal data assessing price, purity/potency or seizures were included. Results We identified seven regional/international metasurveillance systems with longitudinal measures of price or purity/potency that met eligibility criteria. In the USA, the average inflation-adjusted and purity-adjusted prices of heroin, cocaine and cannabis decreased by 81%, 80% and 86%, respectively, between 1990 and 2007, whereas average purity increased by 60%, 11% and 161%, respectively. Similar trends were observed in Europe, where during the same period the average inflation-adjusted price of opiates and cocaine decreased by 74% and 51%, respectively. In Australia, the average inflation-adjusted price of cocaine decreased 14%, while the inflation-adjusted price of heroin and cannabis both decreased 49% between 2000 and 2010. During this time, seizures of these drugs in major production regions and major domestic markets generally increased. Conclusions With few exceptions and despite increasing investments in enforcement-based supply reduction efforts aimed at disrupting global drug supply, illegal drug prices have generally decreased while drug purity has generally

Discovering unknown adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in postmarketing surveillance as early as possible is of great importance. The current approach to postmarketing surveillance primarily relies on spontaneous reporting. It is a passive surveillancesystem and limited by gross underreporting (<10% reporting rate), latency, and inconsistent reporting. We propose a novel team-based intelligent agent software system approach for proactively monitoring and detecting potential ADRs of interest using electronic patient records. We designed such a system and named it ADRMonitor. The intelligent agents, operating on computers located in different places, are capable of continuously and autonomously collaborating with each other and assisting the human users (e.g., the food and drug administration (FDA), drug safety professionals, and physicians). The agents should enhance current systems and accelerate early ADR identification. To evaluate the performance of the ADRMonitor with respect to the current spontaneous reporting approach, we conducted simulation experiments on identification of ADR signal pairs (i.e., potential links between drugs and apparent adverse reactions) under various conditions. The experiments involved over 275 000 simulated patients created on the basis of more than 1000 real patients treated by the drug cisapride that was on the market for seven years until its withdrawal by the FDA in 2000 due to serious ADRs. Healthcare professionals utilizing the spontaneous reporting approach and the ADRMonitor were separately simulated by decision-making models derived from a general cognitive decision model called fuzzy recognition-primed decision (RPD) model that we recently developed. The quantitative simulation results show that 1) the number of true ADR signal pairs detected by the ADRMonitor is 6.6 times higher than that by the spontaneous reporting strategy; 2) the ADR detection rate of the ADRMonitor agents with even moderate decision-making skills is five

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an infectious agent that attacks the immune system cells. Without a strong immune system, the body becomes very susceptible to serious life threatening opportunistic diseases. In spite of the great progresses on medication and prevention over the last years, HIV infection continues to be a major global public health issue, having claimed more than 36 million lives over the last 35 years since the recognition of the disease. Monitoring, through registries, of HIV-AIDS cases is vital to assess general health care needs and to support long-term health-policy control planning. Surveillancesystems are therefore established in almost all developed countries. Typically, this is a complex system depending on several stakeholders, such as health care providers, the general population and laboratories, which challenges an efficient and effective reporting of diagnosed cases. One issue that often arises is the administrative delay in reports of diagnosed cases. This paper aims to identify the main factors influencing reporting delays of HIV-AIDS cases within the portuguese surveillancesystem. The used methodologies included multilayer artificial neural networks (MLP), naive bayesian classifiers (NB), support vector machines (SVM) and the k-nearest neighbor algorithm (KNN). The highest classification accuracy, precision and recall were obtained for MLP and the results suggested homogeneous administrative and clinical practices within the reporting process. Guidelines for reductions of the delays should therefore be developed nationwise and transversally to all stakeholders.

Recent advances in computer vision technology have lead to the development of various automatic surveillancesystems, however their effectiveness is adversely affected by many factors and they are not completely reliable. This study investigated the potential of a semi-automated surveillancesystem to reduce CCTV operator workload in both detection and tracking activities. A further focus of interest was the degree of user reliance on the automated system. A simulated prototype was developed which mimicked an automated system that provided different levels of system confidence information. Dependent variable measures were taken for secondary task performance, reliance and subjective workload. When the automatic component of a semi-automatic CCTV surveillancesystem provided reliable system confidence information to operators, workload significantly decreased and spare mental capacity significantly increased. Providing feedback about system confidence and accuracy appears to be one important way of making the status of the automated component of the surveillancesystem more 'visible' to users and hence more effective to use.

This article describes the history and findings of the Epidaurus Project, a Uniformed Services University-affiliated project to bring holistic care and evidence-based design into the Military Health System (MHS). A distinguished group of civilian thought leaders contributed. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process offered a chance to implement the Epidaurus agenda. A new integrated healthcare delivery system, centered around the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, was the result. These facilities will be templates for a new generation of MHS "healing environments" and a model for innovative systems of healthcare nationwide. The Epidaurus Project represents a significant collaboration between civilian medicine and the military in times of war.

This article describes the history and findings of the Epidaurus Project, a Uniformed Services University–affiliated project to bring holistic care and evidence-based design into the Military Health System (MHS). A distinguished group of civilian thought leaders contributed. The 2005 Base Realignment and Closure process offered a chance to implement the Epidaurus agenda. A new integrated healthcare delivery system, centered around the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Bethesda, Maryland, was the result. These facilities will be templates for a new generation of MHS “healing environments” and a model for innovative systems of healthcare nationwide. The Epidaurus Project represents a significant collaboration between civilian medicine and the military in times of war. PMID:24278818

Background Before 1991, the infectious diseases surveillancesystems (IDSS) of the former Soviet Union (FSU) were centrally planned in Moscow. The dissolution of the FSU resulted in economic stresses on public health infrastructure. At the request of seven FSU Ministries of Health, we performed assessments of the IDSS designed to guide reform. The assessment of the Armenian infectious diseases surveillancesystem (AIDSS) is presented here as a prototype. Discussion We performed qualitative assessments using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines for evaluating surveillancesystems. Until 1996, the AIDSS collected aggregate and case-based data on 64 infectious diseases. It collected information on diseases of low pathogenicity (e.g., pediculosis) and those with no public health intervention (e.g., infectious mononucleosis). The specificity was poor because of the lack of case definitions. Most cases were investigated using a lengthy, non-disease-specific case-report form Armenian public health officials analyzed data descriptively and reported data upward from the local to national level, with little feedback. Information was not shared across vertical programs. Reform should focus on enhancing usefulness, efficiency, and effectiveness by reducing the quantity of data collected and revising reporting procedures and information types; improving the quality, analyses, and use of data at different levels; reducing system operations costs; and improving communications to reporting sources. These recommendations are generalizable to other FSU republics. Summary The AIDSS was complex and sensitive, yet costly and inefficient. The flexibility, representativeness, and timeliness were good because of a comprehensive health-care system and compulsory reporting. Some data were questionable and some had no utility. PMID:11914147

Objectives: To identify and describe the work related injuries in both the formal and informal work sectors captured in an emergency department based injury surveillancesystem in Managua, Nicaragua. Setting: Urban emergency department in Managua, Nicaragua serving 200–300 patients per day. Methods: Secondary analysis from the surveillancesystem data. All cases indicating an injury while working and seen for treatment at the emergency department between 1 August 2001 and 31 July 2002 were included. There was no exclusion based on place of occurrence (home, work, school), age, or gender. Results: There were 3801 work related injuries identified which accounted for 18.6% of the total 20 425 injures captured by the surveillancesystem. Twenty seven work related fatalities were recorded, compared with the 1998 International Labor Organization statistic of 25 occupational fatalities for all of Nicaragua. Injuries occurring outside of a formal work location accounted for more than 60% of the work related injuries. Almost half of these occurred at home, while 19% occurred on the street. The leading mechanisms for work related injuries were falls (30%), blunt objects (28%), and stabs/cuts (23%). Falls were by far the most severe mechanism in the study, causing 37% of the work related deaths and more than half of the fractures. Conclusions: Occupational injuries are grossly underreported in Nicaragua. This study demonstrated that an emergency department can be a data source for work related injuries in developing countries because it captures both the formal and informal workforce injuries. Fall prevention initiatives could significantly reduce the magnitude and severity of occupational injuries in Managua, Nicaragua. PMID:15314050

Objective This paper aims to determine the cost of establishing and sustaining a verbal-autopsy based mortality surveillancesystem in rural India. Materials and Methods Deaths occurring in 45 villages (population 185,629) were documented over a 4-year period from 2003–2007 by 45 non-physician healthcare workers (NPHWs) trained in data collection using a verbal autopsy tool. Causes of death were assigned by 2 physicians for the first year and by one physician for the subsequent years. Costs were calculated for training of interviewers and physicians, data collection, verbal autopsy analysis, project management and infrastructure. Costs were divided by the number of deaths and the population covered in the year. Results Verbal-autopsies were completed for 96.7% (5786) of all deaths (5895) recorded. The annual cost in year 1 was INR 1,133,491 (USD 24,943) and the total cost per death was INR 757 (USD 16.66). These costs included training of NPHWs and physician reviewers Rs 67,025 (USD 1474), data collection INR 248,400 (USD 5466), dual physician review for cause of death assignment INR 375,000 (USD 8252), and project management INR 341,724 (USD 7520). The average annual cost to run the system each year was INR 822,717 (USD18104) and the cost per death was INR 549 (USD 12) for the next 3 years. Costs were reduced by using single physician review and shortened re-training sessions. The annual cost of running a surveillancesystem was INR 900,410 (USD 19814). Discussion This study provides detailed empirical evidence of the costs involved in running a mortality surveillance site using verbal-autopsy. PMID:25955389

The increasing Internet coverage and the widespread use of digital devices offer the possibility to develop new digital surveillancesystems potentially capable to provide important aid to epidemiological and public health monitoring and research. In France, a new nationwide surveillancesystem for influenza-like illness, GrippeNet.fr, was introduced since the 2011/2012 season based on an online participatory mechanism and open to the general population. We evaluate the recruitment and participation of users to the first pilot season with respect to similar efforts in Europe to assess the feasibility of establishing a participative network of surveillance in France. We further investigate the representativeness of the GrippeNet.fr population along a set of indicators on geographical, demographic, socio-economic and health aspects. Participation was widespread in the country and with rates comparable to other European countries with partnered projects running since a longer time. It was not representative of the general population in terms of age and gender, however all age classes were represented, including the older classes (65+ years old), generally less familiar with the digital world, but considered at high risk for influenza complications. Once adjusted on demographic indicators, the GrippeNet.fr population is found to be more frequently employed, with a higher education level and vaccination rate with respect to the general population. A similar propensity to commute for work to different regions was observed, and no significant difference was found for asthma and diabetes. Results show the feasibility of the system, provide indications to inform adjusted epidemic analyses, and highlight the presence of specific population groups that need to be addressed by targeted communication strategies to achieve a higher representativeness in the following seasons. PMID:24040020

Background Since Alan Pritchard defined bibliometrics as “the application of statistical methods to media of communication” in 1969, bibliometric analyses have become widespread. To date, however, bibliometrics has not been used to analyze publications related to the U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS). Purpose To determine the most frequently cited BRFSS-related topical areas, institutions, and journals. Methods A search of the Web of Knowledge database in 2013 identified U.S.-published studies related to BRFSS, from its start in 1984 through 2012. Search terms were BRFSS, Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem, or Behavioral Risk Survey. The resulting 1,387 articles were analyzed descriptively and produced data for VOSviewer, a computer program that plotted a relevance distance–based map and clustered keywords from text in titles and abstracts. Results Topics, journals, and publishing institutions ranged widely. Most research was clustered by content area, such as cancer screening, access to care, heart health, and quality of life. The American Journal of Preventive Medicine and American Journal of Public Health published the most BRFSS-related papers (95 and 70, respectively). Conclusions Bibliometrics can help identify the most frequently published BRFSS-related topics, publishing journals, and publishing institutions. BRFSS data are widely used, particularly by CDC and academic institutions such as the University of Washington and other universities hosting top-ranked schools of public health. Bibliometric analysis and mapping provides an innovative way of quantifying and visualizing the plethora of research conducted using BRFSS data and summarizing the contribution of this surveillancesystem to public health. PMID:25442231

The increasing Internet coverage and the widespread use of digital devices offer the possibility to develop new digital surveillancesystems potentially capable to provide important aid to epidemiological and public health monitoring and research. In France, a new nationwide surveillancesystem for influenza-like illness, GrippeNet.fr, was introduced since the 2011/2012 season based on an online participatory mechanism and open to the general population. We evaluate the recruitment and participation of users to the first pilot season with respect to similar efforts in Europe to assess the feasibility of establishing a participative network of surveillance in France. We further investigate the representativeness of the GrippeNet.fr population along a set of indicators on geographical, demographic, socio-economic and health aspects. Participation was widespread in the country and with rates comparable to other European countries with partnered projects running since a longer time. It was not representative of the general population in terms of age and gender, however all age classes were represented, including the older classes (65+ years old), generally less familiar with the digital world, but considered at high risk for influenza complications. Once adjusted on demographic indicators, the GrippeNet.fr population is found to be more frequently employed, with a higher education level and vaccination rate with respect to the general population. A similar propensity to commute for work to different regions was observed, and no significant difference was found for asthma and diabetes. Results show the feasibility of the system, provide indications to inform adjusted epidemic analyses, and highlight the presence of specific population groups that need to be addressed by targeted communication strategies to achieve a higher representativeness in the following seasons.

Cerivastatin, a lipid-lowering agent, was voluntarily withdrawn from the market because of high risk of rhabdomyolysis when used as monotherapy and as comedication with fibrates, especially gemfibrozil. Thereafter, investigators found a five-fold increase in the area under the curve (AUC) when cerivastatin was used as comedication with gemfibrozil and theorized that the increase was associated with inhibition of the hepatic uptake and metabolism. By contrast, a number of pharmacoepidemiological investigations--one of which involved evaluation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) database for suspected adverse drug reactions and 11 cohort studies of statin and fibrate users in United States showed the risk of rhabdomyolysis to be greater in cerivastatin than in other statins used in either monotherapy or in comedication with fibrates, especially gemfibrozil. This incident regarding risk of rhabdomyolysis in cerivastatin monotherapy was taken to court in the United States and unpublished company (manufacturer of cerivastatin) documents were opened. The incident was then analyzed and discussed in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) as a concern of the current US post-marketing surveillancesystem. The company's action and timing were judged and found to be inappropriate (although companies of this sort generally have insurmountable conflicts of interest), and the work of the US regulatory system and funding for post-marketing safety management were found to be insufficient. On the basis of the current situation, the authors and editors recommend further improvement of post-marketing regulations including the establishment of an independent drug safety board to oversee post-marketing surveillance. Among the opened, unpublished data, was the finding that cerivastatin obviously induced myopathy in a dose-dependent manner when administrated as monotherapy. As for other statins, only limited data was available for the relationship between the dosage and

The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) is an Italian research institution, with focus on Earth Sciences. INGV runs the Italian National Seismic Network (Rete Sismica Nazionale, RSN) and other networks at national scale for monitoring earthquakes and tsunami as a part of the National Civil Protection System coordinated by the Italian Department of Civil Protection (Dipartimento di Protezione Civile, DPC). RSN is composed of about 400 stations, mainly broadband, installed in the Country and in the surrounding regions; about 110 stations feature also co-located strong motion instruments, and about 180 have GPS receivers and belong to the National GPS network (Rete Integrata Nazionale GPS, RING). The data acquisition system was designed to accomplish, in near-real-time, automatic earthquake detection, hypocenter and magnitude determination, moment tensors, shake maps and other products of interest for DPC. Database archiving of all parametric results are closely linked to the existing procedures of the INGV seismic monitoring environment and surveillance procedures. INGV is one of the primary nodes of ORFEUS (Observatories & Research Facilities for European Seismology) EIDA (European Integrated Data Archive) for the archiving and distribution of continuous, quality checked seismic data. The strong motion network data are archived and distributed both in EIDA and in event based archives; GPS data, from the RING network are also archived, analyzed and distributed at INGV. Overall, the Italian earthquake surveillance service provides, in quasi real-time, hypocenter parameters to the DPC. These are then revised routinely by the analysts of the Italian Seismic Bulletin (Bollettino Sismico Italiano, BSI). The results are published on the web, these are available to both the scientific community and the general public. The INGV surveillance includes a pre-operational tsunami alert service since INGV is one of the Tsunami Service providers of the North

The requirement for improving aircraft utilization and responsiveness in airlift operations has been recognized for quite some time by the Canadian Forces. To date, the utilization of scarce airlift resources has been planned mainly through the employment of manpower-intensive manual methods in combination with the expertise of highly qualified personnel. In this paper, we address the problem of facilitating the load planning process for military aircraft cargo planes through the development of a computer-based system. We introduce TALBAS (Transport Aircraft Loading and BAlancing System), a knowledge-based system designed to assist personnel involved in preparing valid load plans for the C130 Hercules aircraft. The main features of this system which are accessible through a convivial graphical user interface, consists of the automatic generation of valid cargo arrangements given a list of items to be transported, the user-definition of load plans and the automatic validation of such load plans.

In this paper we develop a novel practical application, which give scalable services to the end users when abnormal actives are happening. Architecture of the application has been presented consisting of network infrared cameras and a communication module. In this intelligent surveillancesystem we use Kinect sensors as the input cameras. Kinect is an infrared laser camera which its user can access the raw infrared sensor stream. We install several Kinect sensors in one room to track the human skeletons. Each sensor returns the body positions with 15 coordinates in its own coordinate system. We use calibration algorithms to calibrate all the body positions points into one unified coordinate system. With the body positions points, we can infer the surveillance context. Furthermore, the messages from the metadata index matrix will be sent to mobile phone through communication module. User will instantly be aware of an abnormal case happened in the room without having to check the website. In conclusion, theoretical analysis and experimental results in this paper show that the proposed system is reasonable and efficient. And the application method introduced in this paper is not only to discourage the criminals and assist police in the apprehension of suspects, but also can enabled the end-users monitor the indoor environments anywhere and anytime by their phones.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Health Center has developed a simple inexpensive McBee Card SurveillanceSystem for following approximately 2,000 registered patients with hypertension. The system has been in use for the past two years by three health teams. On a quarterly basis teams and physicians are given reports on the percentage of their hypertensive patients with controlled blood pressure (bp) (bp less than or equal to 140/90 for patients younger than 50; bp less than or equal to 160/95 for 50 or older). In addition, patients not seen in the past 4 months are identified for follow-up by family health workers. During the 2-year period that the system has been in operation, the three teams have increased their percentage of patients under control by 50%. Of 929 patients with hypertension, 411 were controlled at the inception of the study and 617 were controlled 2 years later. Such a simple surveillance and self-evaluaton system is readily applicable to all ambulatory care settings.

The objective of this study is to establish a comprehensive evaluation system for military hospitals' response capacity to bio-terrorism. Literature research and Delphi method were utilized to establish the comprehensive evaluation system for military hospitals' response capacity to bio-terrorism. Questionnaires were designed and used to survey the status quo of 134 military hospitals' response capability to bio-terrorism. Survey indicated that factor analysis method was suitable to for analyzing the comprehensive evaluation system for military hospitals' response capacity to bio-terrorism. The constructed evaluation system was consisted of five first-class and 16 second-class indexes. Among them, medical response factor was considered as the most important factor with weight coefficient of 0.660, followed in turn by the emergency management factor with weight coefficient of 0.109, emergency management consciousness factor with weight coefficient of 0.093, hardware support factor with weight coefficient of 0.078, and improvement factor with weight coefficient of 0.059. The constructed comprehensive assessment model and system are scientific and practical.

Early detection of an infectious disease incursion will minimize the impact of outbreaks in livestock. Syndromic surveillance based on the analysis of readily available data can enhance traditional surveillancesystems and allow veterinary authorities to react in a timely manner. This study was based on monitoring the number of cattle carcasses sent for rendering in the veterinary unit of Talavera de la Reina (Spain). The aim was to develop a system to detect deviations from expected values which would signal unexpected health events. Historical weekly collected dead cattle (WCDC) time series stabilized by the Box-Cox transformation and adjusted by the minimum least squares method were used to build the univariate cycling regression model based on a Fourier transformation. Three different models, according to type of production system, were built to estimate the baseline expected number of WCDC. Two types of risk signals were generated: point risk signals when the observed value was greater than the upper 95% confidence interval of the expected baseline, and cumulative risk signals, generated by a modified cumulative sum algorithm, when the cumulative sums of reported deaths were above the cumulative sum of expected deaths. Data from 2011 were used to prospectively validate the model generating seven risk signals. None of them were correlated to infectious disease events but some coincided, in time, with very high climatic temperatures recorded in the region. The harvest effect was also observed during the first week of the study year. Establishing appropriate risk signal thresholds is a limiting factor of predictive models; it needs to be adjusted based on experience gained during the use of the models. To increase the sensitivity and specificity of the predictions epidemiological interpretation of non-specific risk signals should be complemented by other sources of information. The methodology developed in this study can enhance other existing early detection

This short review summarizes all the published and unpublished reports on vitamin A deficiency in the Sudan in the last four decades. Different local terms used by people to indicate vitamin A deficiency were enlisted. There is evidence that vitamin A deficiency is a public health problem in eastern Sudan and among communities from western and southern Sudan living around Greater Khartoum, who were displaced from their homelands because of drought, famine conditions and civil unrest. There are reports indicative of vitamin A deficiency problem in the central and the far western provinces. There were no reports from the northern provinces. The need for a surveillancesystem was discussed.

Vector-borne diseases are one of the world's major public health threats and annually responsible for 30-50% of deaths reported to the national notifiable disease system in China. To control vector-borne diseases, a unified, effective and economic surveillancesystem is urgently needed; all of the current surveillancesystems in China waste resources and/or information. Here, we review some current surveillancesystems and present a concept for an integrated surveillancesystem combining existing vector and vector-borne disease monitoring systems. The integrated surveillancesystem has been tested in pilot programmes in China and led to a 21·6% cost saving in rodent-borne disease surveillance. We share some experiences gained from these programmes.

After an account of the four-site Baker-Nunn telescope system that was its forerunner, the Ground-based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) system is described with attention to its function, capabilities, and such system elements as its telescopes and their mounts, TV camera, automatic moving target indicator (AMTI), and software. GEODSS is a passive tracking system operating within the constraints of night skies and atmospheric conditions, and consists of two 40-inch aperture wide-field telescopes equipped with sensitive, low light level television cameras and radiometers that are coupled to signal processors and computerized system management. Satellite signal detection is by means of the sunlight reflected by objects as dim as 16.0 m and site locations are in New Mexico, South Korea, Diego Garcia and the Eastern Atlantic, providing overlapping sky coverage. Detection, observation and object orbit element maintenance extends to altitudes of 40,000 km.

The international community continues to define common strategic themes of actions to improve global partnership and international collaborations in order to protect our populations. The International Health Regulations (IHR[2005]) offer one of these strategic themes whereby World Health Organization (WHO) Member States and global partners engaged in biosecurity, biosurveillance and public health can define commonalities and leverage their respective missions and resources to optimize interventions. The U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency's Cooperative Biological Engagement Program (CBEP) works with partner countries across clinical, veterinary, epidemiological, and laboratory communities to enhance national disease surveillance, detection, diagnostic, and reporting capabilities. CBEP, like many other capacity building programs, has wrestled with ways to improve partner country buy-in and ownership and to develop sustainable solutions that impact integrated disease surveillance outcomes. Designing successful implementation strategies represents a complex and challenging exercise and requires robust and transparent collaboration at the country level. To address this challenge, the Laboratory Systems Development Branch of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and CBEP have partnered to create a set of tools that brings together key leadership of the surveillancesystem into a deliberate system design process. This process takes into account strengths and limitations of the existing system, how the components inter-connect and relate to one another, and how they can be systematically refined within the local context. The planning tools encourage cross-disciplinary thinking, critical evaluation and analysis of existing capabilities, and discussions across organizational and departmental lines toward a shared course of action and purpose. The underlying concepts and methodology of these tools are presented here.

During the 1970s, the Army health hazard assessment (HHA) process developed as a medical program to minimize hazards in military materiel during the development process. The HHA Program characterizes health hazards that soldiers and civilians may encounter as they interact with military weapons and equipment. Thus, it is a resource for medical planners and advisors to use that can identify and estimate potential hazards that soldiers may encounter as they train and conduct missions. The U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine administers the program, which is integrated with the Army's Manpower and Personnel Integration program. As the HHA Program has matured, an electronic database has been developed to record and monitor the health hazards associated with military equipment and systems. The current database tracks the results of HHAs and provides reporting designed to assist the HHA Program manager in daily activities.

Syndromic surveillance is an innovative surveillance tool used to support national surveillance programmes. Recent advances in the use of internet-based health data have demonstrated the potential usefulness of these health data; however, there have been limited studies comparing these innovative health data to existing established syndromic surveillancesystems. We conducted a retrospective observational study to assess the usefulness of a national internet-based 'symptom checker' service for use as a syndromic surveillancesystem. NHS Direct online data were extracted for 1 August 2012 to 1 July 2013; a time-series analysis on the symptom categories self-reported by online users was undertaken and compared to existing telehealth syndromic data. There were 3·37 million online users of the internet-based self-checker compared to 1·43 million callers to the telephone triage health service. There was a good correlation between the online and telephone triage data for a number of syndromic indicators including cold/flu, difficulty breathing and eye problems; however, online data appeared to provide additional early warning over telephone triage health data. This assessment has illustrated some potential benefit of using internet-based symptom-checker data and provides the basis for further investigating how these data can be incorporated into national syndromic surveillance programmes.

Background There is an increasing number of urgently ill and injured children being seen in emergency departments (ED) of developing countries. The pediatric disease burden in EDs across Pakistan is generally unknown. Our main objective was to determine the spectrum of disease and injury among children seen in EDs in Pakistan through a nationwide ED-based surveillancesystem. Methods Through the Pakistan National Emergency Department Surveillance (Pak-NEDS), data were collected from November 2010 to March 2011 in seven major tertiary care centers representing all provinces of Pakistan. These included five public and two private hospitals, with a collective annual census of over one million ED encounters. Results Of 25,052 children registered in Pak-NEDS (10% of all patients seen): 61% were male, 13% under 5 years, while almost 65% were between 10 to < 16 years. The majority (90%) were seen in public hospital EDs. About half the patients were discharged from the EDs, 9% admitted to hospitals and only 1.3% died in the EDs. Injury (39%) was the most common presenting complaint, followed by fever/malaise (19%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (18%). Injury was more likely in males vs. females (43% vs. 33%; p < 0.001), with a peak presentation in the 5-12 year age group (45%). Conclusions Pediatric patients constitute a smaller proportion among general ED users in Pakistan. Injury is the most common presenting complaint for children seen in the ED. These data will help in resource allocation for cost effective pediatric ED service delivery systems. Prospective longer duration surveillance is needed in more representative pediatric EDs across Pakistan. PMID:26691052

Hepatitis A is thought to infect almost all persons living in Pakistan by age 15 years, and hepatitis E is responsible for sporadic infections and outbreaks. The prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is estimated at 2.5% and the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, estimated at 4.8%, is one of the highest rates in the world. Hepatitis surveillance in Pakistan has been syndromic, failing to confirm infection, distinguish among viruses, or collect information on risk factors. To understand the epidemiology of viral hepatitis in Pakistan more clearly, the Ministry of Health (MOH) asked the Pakistan Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP) to establish a hepatitis sentinel surveillancesystem in five large public hospitals in four provinces and Islamabad Capital Territory. This report describes the implementation of the viral hepatitis surveillancesystem in Pakistan and summarizes major findings from June 2010 through March 2011. A total of 712 cases of viral hepatitis were reported; newly reported HCV infection accounted for 53.2% of reported cases, followed by acute hepatitis A (19.8%), acute hepatitis E (12.2%), and newly reported HBV infection (10.8%). A history of health-care--related exposures, particularly receipt of therapeutic injections and infusions, commonly were reported by persons infected with HBV and HCV, and most patients reported drinking unboiled water. These findings point to the need for improved provider and community education about risks associated with unsafe injections, strengthening infection control practices in health facilities, increasing hepatitis B vaccination coverage, and improving access to clean drinking water in Pakistan.

management systems. For example, the International Civil Aviation Organization ( ICAO ), to which 183 members subscribe, is including Automated Dependent...Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) in ICAO standards and recommended practices. The purpose of this paper is to examine this new class of aircraft

Five video systems - potentially useful for airborne surveillance of oil spills - were developed, flight tested, and evaluated. The systems are: (1) conventional black and white TV, (2) conventional TV with false color, (3) differential TV, (4) prototype Lunar Surface TV, and (5) field sequential TV. Wavelength and polarization filtering were utilized in all systems. Greatly enhanced detection of oil spills, relative to that possible with the unaided eye, was achieved. The most practical video system is a conventional TV camera with silicon-diode-array image tube, filtered with a Corning 7-54 filter and a polarizer oriented with its principal axis in the horizontal direction. Best contrast between oil and water was achieved when winds and sea states were low. The minimum detectable oil film thickness was about 0.1 micrometer.

This paper presents a proposal of an intelligent video surveillancesystem able to detect and identify abnormal and alarming situations by analyzing object movement. The system is designed to minimize video processing and transmission, thus allowing a large number of cameras to be deployed on the system, and therefore making it suitable for its usage as an integrated safety and security solution in Smart Cities. Alarm detection is performed on the basis of parameters of the moving objects and their trajectories, and is performed using semantic reasoning and ontologies. This means that the system employs a high-level conceptual language easy to understand for human operators, capable of raising enriched alarms with descriptions of what is happening on the image, and to automate reactions to them such as alerting the appropriate emergency services using the Smart City safety network.

This paper presents a proposal of an intelligent video surveillancesystem able to detect and identify abnormal and alarming situations by analyzing object movement. The system is designed to minimize video processing and transmission, thus allowing a large number of cameras to be deployed on the system, and therefore making it suitable for its usage as an integrated safety and security solution in Smart Cities. Alarm detection is performed on the basis of parameters of the moving objects and their trajectories, and is performed using semantic reasoning and ontologies. This means that the system employs a high-level conceptual language easy to understand for human operators, capable of raising enriched alarms with descriptions of what is happening on the image, and to automate reactions to them such as alerting the appropriate emergency services using the Smart City safety network. PMID:23112607

however, virtually all requests for early retirement are granted routinely. "The Services have found that approving early (20 years) retirement is...incentive to remain in the service. The immediate benefits payable after 20 years of service and routine approval of all requests for early retirement have...year. Evaluation of Current System Officers and enlisted members of each service were brought under the early retirement umbrella by separate pieces of

Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program has two simultaneously-operating, autonomous search systems on two geographically-separated 1.2-m telescopes; one at the Maui Space SurveillanceSystem (NEAT/MSSS) and the other on the Palomar Observatory's Oschin telescope (NEAT/Palomar). This paper will focus exclusively on the NEAT/MSSS system.

A national nutrition surveillancesystem is an essential instrument for the detection of nutrition and nutrition-related health problems that can assist on policy implementation. The role of nutritional surveillance in detecting trends of nutritional problems and predicting their risks has become more important as its strong scientifically based method and evidences may provide insights on chronic disease risks. In this review, we attempted to identify dietary issues of Korean cardiometabolic disease (CMD) based on the national nutrition surveillancesystem and addressed gaps and limitations in the system. In addition, an alternative way on how the system can overcome these problems with the view of ultimately improving public health in Korea was discussed. PMID:28168176

Background Automated adverse outcome surveillance tools and methods have potential utility in quality improvement and medical product surveillance activities. Their use for assessing hospital performance on the basis of patient outcomes has received little attention. We compared risk-adjusted sequential probability ratio testing (RA-SPRT) implemented in an automated tool to Massachusetts public reports of 30-day mortality after isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Methods A total of 23,020 isolated adult coronary artery bypass surgery admissions performed in Massachusetts hospitals between January 1, 2002 and September 30, 2007 were retrospectively re-evaluated. The RA-SPRT method was implemented within an automated surveillance tool to identify hospital outliers in yearly increments. We used an overall type I error rate of 0.05, an overall type II error rate of 0.10, and a threshold that signaled if the odds of dying 30-days after surgery was at least twice than expected. Annual hospital outlier status, based on the state-reported classification, was considered the gold standard. An event was defined as at least one occurrence of a higher-than-expected hospital mortality rate during a given year. Results We examined a total of 83 hospital-year observations. The RA-SPRT method alerted 6 events among three hospitals for 30-day mortality compared with 5 events among two hospitals using the state public reports, yielding a sensitivity of 100% (5/5) and specificity of 98.8% (79/80). Conclusions The automated RA-SPRT method performed well, detecting all of the true institutional outliers with a small false positive alerting rate. Such a system could provide confidential automated notification to local institutions in advance of public reporting providing opportunities for earlier quality improvement interventions. PMID:22168892

OBJECTIVE: To establish a surveillance network for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) risk factors in industrial settings and estimate the risk factor burden using standardized tools. METHODS: We conducted a baseline cross-sectional survey (as part of a CVD surveillance programme) of industrial populations from 10 companies across India, situated in close proximity to medical colleges that served as study centres. The study subjects were employees (selected by age and sex stratified random sampling) and their family members. Information on behavioural, clinical and biochemical determinants was obtained through standardized methods (questionnaires, clinical measurements and biochemical analysis). Data collation and analyses were done at the national coordinating centre. FINDINGS: We report the prevalence of CVD risk factors among individuals aged 20-69 years (n = 19 973 for the questionnaire survey, n = 10 442 for biochemical investigations); mean age was 40 years. The overall prevalence of most risk factors was high, with 50.9% of men and 51.9% of women being overweight, central obesity was observed among 30.9% of men and 32.8% of women, and 40.2% of men and 14.9% of women reported current tobacco use. Self-reported prevalence of diabetes (5.3%) and hypertension (10.9%) was lower than when measured clinically and biochemically (10.1% and 27.7%, respectively). There was marked heterogeneity in the prevalence of risk factors among the study centres. CONCLUSION: There is a high burden of CVD risk factors among industrial populations across India. The surveillancesystem can be used as a model for replication in India as well as other developing countries. PMID:16799730

Assured safety and operational reliability of post-tensioned concrete components of nuclear power plants are of great significance to the public, electric utilities, and regulatory agencies. Prestressing tendons provide principal reinforcement for containment and other structures. In this phase of the research effort, the feasibility of developing a passive surveillancesystem for identification of ruptures in tendon wires was evaluated and verified. The concept offers high potential for greatly increasing effectiveness of presently-utilized periodic tendon condition surveillance programs. A one-tenth scale ring model of the Palo Verde nuclear containment structure was built inside the Structural Laboratory. Dynamic scaling (similitude) relationships were used to relate measured sensor responses recorded during controlled wire breakages to the expected prototype containment tendon response. Strong and recognizable signatures were detected by the accelerometers used. It was concluded that the unbonded prestressing tendons provide an excellent path for transmission of stress waves resulting from wire breaks. Accelerometers placed directly on the bearing plates at the ends of tendons recorded high-intensity waveforms. Accelerometers placed elsewhere on concrete surfaces of the containment model revealed substantial attenuation and reduced intensities of captured waveforms. Locations of wire breaks could be determined accurately through measurement of differences in arrival times of the signal at the sensors. Pattern recognition systems to be utilized in conjunction with the proposed concept will provide a basis for an integrated and automated tool for identification of wire breaks.

State of the art optical sensing systems performing target acquisition/tracking and surveillance functions are being designed to incorporate a number of sensors into one package. These include visual and MWIR cameras, FLIRs, and laser range finders. These combined systems are being configured to view through a common aperture window. Typical window diameters are to eleven inches, but some surveillance applications have windows approaching twenty inches in diameter. These sensor windows typically operate in hostile environments including very high pressure differentials, large thermal gradients, and severe rain and sand abrasion. EMI/EMC protection and de-icing capabilities are also commonly required. For airborne applications and to minimize thermal gradients, thinner, lightweight, high strength windows are also necessary. Sapphire is an ideal window material to satisfy these requirements due to its high strength, UV-MWIR bandpass, minimal optical scatter, excellent index of refraction homogeneity and very high scratch/impact resistance. Associated optical fabrication, grid lithography and optical coating processes have been developed at Hughes Danbury for sapphire windows. This paper addresses the development of a family of large aperture, broadband sapphire windows which also provide EMI/EMC protection and de-icing capabilities. The resulting design configuration and performance characteristics are also addressed. Future technology development requirements are also discussed.

A large-scale multiple surveillancesystem for infectious disease outbreaks has been in operation in England and Wales since the early 1990s. Changes to the statistical algorithm at the heart of the system were proposed and the purpose of this paper is to compare two new algorithms with the original algorithm. Test data to evaluate performance are created from weekly counts of the number of cases of each of more than 2000 diseases over a twenty-year period. The time series of each disease is separated into one series giving the baseline (background) disease incidence and a second series giving disease outbreaks. One series is shifted forward by twelve months and the two are then recombined, giving a realistic series in which it is known where outbreaks have been added. The metrics used to evaluate performance include a scoring rule that appropriately balances sensitivity against specificity and is sensitive to variation in probabilities near 1. In the context of disease surveillance, a scoring rule can be adapted to reflect the size of outbreaks and this was done. Results indicate that the two new algorithms are comparable to each other and better than the algorithm they were designed to replace. PMID:27513749

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the potential for integrating surveillance techniques in reproductive epidemiology with geographic information system technology in order to identify populations at risk around hazardous waste sites. Environmental epidemiologic studies have had problems with estimating or measuring exposures to individuals, and of detecting effects when the exposure is low, but continuous. In addition, exposures around hazardous waste sites are complex and frequently involve chemical mixtures. The birth weight of human babies has been reported to be sensitive to many environmental influences. Birth weight can be analyzed as a continuous variable or as a dichotomous one using the standard cutpoint of 2500 g or less to indicate low birth weight. It has the potential to be a powerful surveillance tool since exposures to the fetus reflect maternal and paternal exposures. The advent of recent environmental regulations pertaining to hazardous waste sites has greatly increased the availability of environmental data for many sites. The major problem with incorporating these data into epidemiologic studies has been with the logistics of data management and analysis. Computer-assisted geographic information systems hold promise in providing capabilities needed to address the data management and analysis requirements for effective epidemiologic studies around to hazardous waste sites.

What is already known on this topic? Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), caused by the ingestion of predatory reef-dwelling fish harboring ciguatoxins is one of the most commonly reported fish-associated marine intoxications. Ciguatoxin retains toxicity regardless of freezing or cooking. Prompt treatment can reduce debilitating neurologic symptoms that are associated with CFP.What is added by this report? Syndromic surveillancesystems in Florida identified six adults with CFP following consumption of black grouper. Five patients sought medical attention; health care providers did not make a diagnosis of CFP or report the cases to public health authorities, and none of the patients received treatment. Close collaboration among several investigating agencies allowed traceback efforts to link black grouper consumed by all patients to a common international distributor.What are the implications for public health practice? Syndromic surveillancesystems capable of detecting CFP are essential public health tools to identify outbreaks and enhance investigations. Medical and public health practitioners should be educated to inquire about recent fish consumption when evaluating patients with clinically compatible signs and symptoms to allow for prompt treatment, and report suspected CFP cases to public health authorities to facilitate source-food traceback efforts. Public education on avoidance of consumption of relatively large predatory reef fish species known to be from ciguatoxic-endemic areas might reduce the risk for CFP.

Cultivation methods are commonly used in Salmonella surveillancesystems and outbreak investigations, and consequently, conclusions about Salmonella evolution and transmission are highly dependent on the performance characteristics of these methods. Past studies have shown that Salmonella serotypes can exhibit different growth characteristics in the same enrichment and selective media. This could lead not only to biased conclusions about the dominant strain present in a sample with mixed Salmonella populations, but also to a low sensitivity for detecting a Salmonella strain in a sample with only a single strain present. The objective of this study was to determine whether cultivation media select preferentially for specific strains of Salmonella in heterogeneous cultures. In this study, four different Salmonella strains (one Salmonella Newport, two Salmonella Typhimurium, and one Salmonella Enteritidis) were competed in a broth-based experiment and a bovine fecal experiment with varied combinations and concentrations of each strain. In all experiments, the strain of Salmonella Newport was the most competitive, regardless of the starting concentration and cultivation protocol. One strain of Salmonella Typhimurium was rarely detected in competition, even when it was the only strain present in bovine feces. Overall, the probability of detecting a specific Salmonella strain had little to do with its starting concentration in the sample. The bias introduced by culture could be dramatically biasing Salmonella surveillancesystems and hindering traceback investigations during Salmonella outbreaks. Future studies should focus on the microbiological explanations for this Salmonella interstrain variability, approaches for minimizing the bias, and estimations of the public health significance of this bias.

Field sites for demographic and health surveillance have made well-recognized contributions to the evaluation of new or untested interventions, largely through efficacy trials involving new technologies or the delivery of selected services, e.g. vaccines, oral rehydration therapy and alternative contraceptive methods. Their role in health system reform, whether national or international, has, however, proved considerably more limited. The present article explores the characteristics and defining features of such field sites in low-income and middle-income countries and argues that many currently active sites have a largely untapped potential for contributing substantially to national and subnational health development. Since the populations covered by these sites often correspond with the boundaries of districts or subdistricts, the strategic use of information generated by demographic surveillance can inform the decentralization efforts of national and provincial health authorities. Among the areas of particular importance are the following: making population-based information available and providing an information resource; evaluating programmes and interventions; and developing applications to policy and practice. The question is posed as to whether their potential contribution to health system reform justifies arguing for adaptations to these field sites and expanded investment in them. PMID:10686747

In the spirit of the 50th anniversary of the launch of the first man-made satellite, an historical overview of ground-based optical space surveillancesystems is provided. Specific emphasis is given on gathering metrics to analyze design trends. The subject of space surveillance spans the history of spaceflight: from the early tracking cameras at missile ranges, the first observations of Sputnik, to the evolution towards highly capable commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems, and much in between. Whereas previous reviews in the literature have been limited in scope to specific time periods, operational programs, countries, etc., a broad overview of a wide range of sources is presented. This review is focused on systems whose primary design purpose can be classified as Space Object Identification (SOI) or Orbit Determination (OD). SOI systems are those that capture images or data to determine information about the satellite itself, such as attitude, features, and material composition. OD systems are those that produce estimates of the satellite position, usually in the form of orbital elements or a time history of tracking angles. Systems are also categorized based on the orbital regime in which their targets reside, which has been simplified in this study to either Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO). The systems are further classified depending on the industry segment (government/commercial or academic), and whether the program is foreign or domestic. In addition to gathering metrics on systems designed solely for man-made satellite observations, it is interesting to find examples of other systems being similarly used. Examples include large astronomical telescopes being used for GEO debris surveys and anomaly resolution for deep-space probes. Another interesting development is the increase in number and capability of COTS systems, some of which are specifically marketed to consumers as satellite trackers. After describing the results of the

We present a new design of a surveillancesystem via a vehicular ad hoc network (VANET) integrated by a 3-G or 4-G cellular wireless network. We propose dense wavelength division multiplexing wavelength enhancement for increasing the channel capacity and signal security. Increase in the number of channels can be obtained by increasing the wavelength density. Signal security is introduced by a specific wavelength filter controlled by the central operator. Optical communication wavelength enhancement is reviewed. The advantage of this proposed system is that it can easily be implemented and incorporated into the existing communication link in either a cellular or ad hoc wireless system, where signal security and hence privacy can be provided.

Several European countries are considering implementing surveillancesystems for HIV infection, but questions remain regarding patient confidentiality. The population-based HIV/AIDS surveillancesystem in Norway integrates anonymous HIV case reports from laboratories and clinicians and named AIDS case reports. This evaluation includes a description of the system, evidence of system attributes, estimation of resources for system operations, and documentation of the system's usefulness. HIV case reports provide a far better picture of the epidemic than AIDS reports. The median delay between positive HIV test and reporting was 30 days (interquartile range 18-49 days). Completeness of demographic and epidemiologic information in the surveillance database ranges from 60 to 100%. Information on pre-AIDS mortality and emigration is incomplete. The system cost euro 25,200 in 1999. Results are published every week and used for planning of health care and prevention. We conclude that the Norwegian surveillancesystem with anonymous reporting of HIV cases is simple, inexpensive and flexible, and capable of providing a representative and timely overview that guides prevention. The system fulfils its objectives while respecting confidentiality and adhering to ethical principles. A similar system may be considered in other countries.

The next generation surveillancesystem will equip with versatile sensor devices and information focus capable of conducting regular and irregular surveillance and security environments worldwide. The community of the persistent surveillance must invest the limited energy and money effectively into researching enabling technologies such as nanotechnology, wireless networks, and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) to develop persistent surveillance applications for the future. Wireless sensor networks can be used by the military for a number of purposes such as monitoring militant activity in remote areas and force protection. Being equipped with appropriate sensors these networks can enable detection of enemy movement, identification of enemy force and analysis of their movement and progress. Among these sensor network technologies, covert communication is one of the challenging tasks in the persistent surveillance because it is highly demanded to provide secured sensor nodes and linkage for fear of deliberate sabotage. Due to the matured VLSI/DSP technologies, affordable COTS of UWB technology with noise-like direct sequence (DS) time-domain pulses is a potential solution to support low probability of intercept and low probability of detection (LPI/LPD) data communication and transmission. This paper will describe a number of technical challenges in wireless persistent surveillance development include covert communication, network control and routing, collaborating signal and information processing, and etc. The paper concludes by presenting Hermitian Wavelets to enhance SNR in support of secured communication.

Omni-directional high resolution surveillance has a wide application range in defense and security fields. Early systems used for this purpose are based on parabolic mirror or fisheye lens where distortion due to the nature of the optical elements cannot be avoided. Moreover, in such systems, the image resolution is limited to a single image sensor's image resolution. Recently, the Panoptic camera approach that mimics the eyes of flying insects using multiple imagers has been presented. This approach features a novel solution for constructing a spherically arranged wide FOV plenoptic imaging system where the omni-directional image quality is limited by low-end sensors. In this paper, an overview of current Panoptic camera designs is provided. New results for a very-high resolution visible spectrum imaging and recording system inspired from the Panoptic approach are presented. The GigaEye-1 system, with 44 single cameras and 22 FPGAs, is capable of recording omni-directional video in a 360°×100° FOV at 9.5 fps with a resolution over (17,700×4,650) pixels (82.3MP). Real-time video capturing capability is also verified at 30 fps for a resolution over (9,000×2,400) pixels (21.6MP). The next generation system with significantly higher resolution and real-time processing capacity, called GigaEye-2, is currently under development. The important capacity of GigaEye-1 opens the door to various post-processing techniques in surveillance domain such as large perimeter object tracking, very-high resolution depth map estimation and high dynamicrange imaging which are beyond standard stitching and panorama generation methods.

Like all health care delivery systems, the U.S. Department of Defense Military Health System (MHS) strives to achieve top preventative care and population health outcomes for its members while operating at an efficient level and containing costs. The objective of this study is to understand the overall efficiency performance of military hospitals and investigate the relationship between efficiency and wellness. This study uses data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis to compare the efficiency of 128 military treatment facilities from the Army, Navy, and Air Force during the period of 2011 to 2013. Fixed effects panel regression is used to determine the association between the hospital efficiency and wellness scores. The results indicate that data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis efficiency scores are congruent in direction. Both results indicate that the majority of the MHS hospitals and clinics can potentially improve their productive efficiency by managing their input resources better. When comparing the performance of the three military branches of service, Army hospitals as a group outperformed their Navy and Air Force counterparts; thus, best practices from the Army should be shared across service components. The findings also suggest no statistically significant, positive association between efficiency and wellness over time in the MHS.

Surveillancesystems for healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are essential for planning actions in prevention and control. Important models have been deployed in recent decades in different countries. This study aims to present the historical and operational characteristics of these systems and discuss the challenges for Brazil. Various models around the world have drawn on the experience of the United States, which pioneered this process. In Brazil, several initiatives have been launched, but the country still lacks a full national information system on HAI, thus indicating the need to promote action strategies, strengthen the role of States in communication between the Federal and local levels, pursue a national plan to organize surveillance teams with the necessary technological infrastructure, besides updating the relevant legislation for dealing with these challenges. Such measures are essential in the Brazilian context for the unified surveillance of HAI, aimed at healthcare safety and quality.

Background Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne illness that places significant burden on tropical developing countries with unplanned urbanization. A surveillancesystem using Google Earth and GIS mapping technologies was developed in Nicaragua as a management tool. Methods and Results Satellite imagery of the town of Bluefields, Nicaragua captured from Google Earth was used to create a base-map in ArcGIS 9. Indices of larval infestation, locations of tire dumps, cemeteries, large areas of standing water, etc. that may act as larval development sites, and locations of the homes of dengue cases collected during routine epidemiologic surveying were overlaid onto this map. Visual imagery of the location of dengue cases, larval infestation, and locations of potential larval development sites were used by dengue control specialists to prioritize specific neighborhoods for targeted control interventions. Conclusion This dengue surveillance program allows public health workers in resource-limited settings to accurately identify areas with high indices of mosquito infestation and interpret the spatial relationship of these areas with potential larval development sites such as garbage piles and large pools of standing water. As a result, it is possible to prioritize control strategies and to target interventions to highest risk areas in order to eliminate the likely origin of the mosquito vector. This program is well-suited for resource-limited settings since it utilizes readily available technologies that do not rely on Internet access for daily use and can easily be implemented in many developing countries for very little cost. PMID:19627614

The detection and tracking of mobile objects (DATMO) is progressively gaining importance for security and surveillance applications. This article proposes a set of new algorithms and procedures for detecting and tracking mobile objects by robots that work collaboratively as part of a multirobot system. These surveillance algorithms are conceived of to work with data provided by long distance range sensors and are intended for highly reliable object detection in wide outdoor environments. Contrary to most common approaches, in which detection and tracking are done by an integrated procedure, the approach proposed here relies on a modular structure, in which detection and tracking are carried out independently, and the latter might accept input data from different detection algorithms. Two movement detection algorithms have been developed for the detection of dynamic objects by using both static and/or mobile robots. The solution to the overall problem is based on the use of a Kalman filter to predict the next state of each tracked object. Additionally, new tracking algorithms capable of combining dynamic objects lists coming from either one or various sources complete the solution. The complementary performance of the separated modular structure for detection and identification is evaluated and, finally, a selection of test examples discussed. PMID:24526305

The detection and tracking of mobile objects (DATMO) is progressively gaining importance for security and surveillance applications. This article proposes a set of new algorithms and procedures for detecting and tracking mobile objects by robots that work collaboratively as part of a multirobot system. These surveillance algorithms are conceived of to work with data provided by long distance range sensors and are intended for highly reliable object detection in wide outdoor environments. Contrary to most common approaches, in which detection and tracking are done by an integrated procedure, the approach proposed here relies on a modular structure, in which detection and tracking are carried out independently, and the latter might accept input data from different detection algorithms. Two movement detection algorithms have been developed for the detection of dynamic objects by using both static and/or mobile robots. The solution to the overall problem is based on the use of a Kalman filter to predict the next state of each tracked object. Additionally, new tracking algorithms capable of combining dynamic objects lists coming from either one or various sources complete the solution. The complementary performance of the separated modular structure for detection and identification is evaluated and, finally, a selection of test examples discussed.

Setting: National tuberculosis programmes (NTPs) of the 53 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region. Objectives: To identify the social determinants and underlying risk factors for tuberculosis (TB) as routinely monitored by NTPs and to identify those feasible and appropriate to be included in the annual reporting to the joint European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) WHO reporting platform. Design: A semi-structured questionnaire sent to 53 national TB surveillance correspondents. Results: A total of 47 countries submitted questionnaires; most of the countries collect a number of social determinants and risk factors that are not requested for reporting to the Joint ECDC-WHO Reporting Platform. Occupation/employment, homelessness, diabetes mellitus and use of alcohol are collected by the majority of countries, but without standardised definitions. Conclusions: Four social determinants/risk factors are already included in the national TB surveillancesystems of the majority of countries and could be incorporated in the annual reporting to the Joint ECDC/WHO Reporting Platform. Standardised epidemiological case definitions need to be adopted. PMID:26399291

Background Infectious disease surveillance is a primary public health function in resource-limited settings. In 2003, an electronic disease surveillancesystem (Alerta) was established in the Peruvian Navy with support from the U.S. Naval Medical Research Center Detachment (NMRCD). Many challenges arose during the implementation process, and a variety of solutions were applied. The purpose of this paper is to identify and discuss these issues. Methods This is a retrospective description of the Alerta implementation. After a thoughtful evaluation according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, the main challenges to implementation were identified and solutions were devised in the context of a resource-limited setting, Peru. Results After four years of operation, we have identified a number of challenges in implementing and operating this electronic disease surveillancesystem. These can be divided into the following categories: (1) issues with personnel and stakeholders; (2) issues with resources in a developing setting; (3) issues with processes involved in the collection of data and operation of the system; and (4) issues with organization at the central hub. Some of the challenges are unique to resource-limited settings, but many are applicable for any surveillancesystem. For each of these challenges, we developed feasible solutions that are discussed. Conclusion There are many challenges to overcome when implementing an electronic disease surveillancesystem, not only related to technology issues. A comprehensive approach is required for success, including: technical support, personnel management, effective training, and cultural sensitivity in order to assure the effective deployment of an electronic disease surveillancesystem. PMID:19025681

Inflation combined with the added burden of homeland security requirements, is increasing pressure on local law enforcement budgets and manpower resources. The problem is: how can law enforcement agencies fulfill all of their requirements? How can they respond to these requirements, including homeland security, with limited manpower? Civil Rights considerations also place constraints on law enforcement. One possible solution is the Remote Law Enforcement SurveillanceSystem (RLESS) concept. RLESS makes more efficient use of existing manpower while avoiding infringement on civil liberties. RLESS provides the capability for unattended stakeout and surveillance. Many stakeout or surveillance operations are conducted by vice, homicide, organized crime or other task forces. Lasting from days to weeks. Many large drug stings last months involving many persons of interest. A single surveillance mission usually involves a minimum of two persons X 3 shifts per day conducting active observation, equating to 48 man-hours per day. Their tasks include watching, listening, and documenting with photography. Recent military developments have included new technologies and techniques that enable remote unattended observation of areas or points of interest. This capability is now available to support law enforcement stakeouts, thereby significantly minimizes the stresses on manpower.

Routine analysis of public health surveillance data to detect departures from historical patterns of disease frequency is required to enable timely public health responses to decrease unnecessary morbidity and mortality. We describe a monitoring system incorporating statistical 'flags' identifying unusually large increases (or decreases) in disease reports compared to the number of cases expected. The two-stage monitoring system consists of univariate Box-Jenkins models and subsequent tracking signals from several statistical process control charts. The analyses are illustrated on 1980-1995 national notifiable disease data reported weekly to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by state health departments and published in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Published in 1999 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the United States.

Translation in eukaryotes is surveilled to detect toxins and virulence factors and coupled to the induction of defense pathways. C. elegans germline-specific mutations in translation components are detected by this system to induce detoxification and immune responses in distinct somatic cells. An RNAi screen revealed gene inactivations that act at multiple steps in lipid biosynthetic and kinase pathways that act upstream of MAP kinase to mediate the systemic communication of translation-defects to induce detoxification genes. Mammalian bile acids can rescue the defect in detoxification gene induction caused by C. elegans lipid biosynthetic gene inactivations. Extracts prepared from C. elegans with translation deficits but not from wild type can also rescue detoxification gene induction in lipid biosynthetic defective strains. These eukaryotic antibacterial countermeasures are not ignored by bacteria: particular bacterial species suppress normal C. elegans detoxification responses to mutations in translation factors. PMID:26322678

Regional anesthesia and regional analgesia techniques with or without a continuous catheter are frequently utilized in all areas of modern anesthesiology. There are individual and economic benefits but also risks involved with those techniques. While the incidence of severe complications is rare and preventive action not always possible, the consequences can be detrimental especially with hematoma or abscess formation associated with central neuraxial blocks. Therefore, it is important to create national and international databases with large case numbers utilizing standardized definitions of complications in order to allow realistic risk assessment and early discovery of potential dangers and preventive actions. This article shows the integration of standardized codes from the Regional Anesthesia SurveillanceSystem with a software tool to allow high-quality data acquisition and the building of a foundation for national and international data collection and analysis as well as for feedback of institutional data for individual process optimization as part of a quality management system.

The author has identified the following significant results. Significant results of the thermal surveillance of volcanoes experiment during 1972 included the design, construction, emplacement, and successful operation at volcanic sites in the Cascade Range, North America and on Surtsey, Iceland, of automated thermistor arrays which transmit ground and fumarole temperatures via the ERTS-1 data communication system to Goddard Space Flight Center. Temperature, radiance, and anomalous heat flow variations are being plotted by a U.S. Geological Survey IBM 360/65 computer program to show daily fluctuations at each of the sites. Results are being compiled in conjunction with NASA and USGS aircraft infrared survey data to provide thermal energy yield estimates during the current repose period of several Cascade Range volcanic systems. ERTS-1 MSS images have provided new information on the extent of structural elements controlling thermal emission at Lassen Volcanic National Park.

The digital revolution has contributed to very large data sets (ie, big data) relevant for public health. The two major data sources are electronic health records from traditional health systems and patient-generated data. As the two data sources have complementary strengths—high veracity in the data from traditional sources and high velocity and variety in patient-generated data—they can be combined to build more-robust public health systems. However, they also have unique challenges. Patient-generated data in particular are often completely unstructured and highly context dependent, posing essentially a machine-learning challenge. Some recent examples from infectious disease surveillance and adverse drug event monitoring demonstrate that the technical challenges can be solved. Despite these advances, the problem of verification remains, and unless traditional and digital epidemiologic approaches are combined, these data sources will be constrained by their intrinsic limits.

MIL -STD-1568, which currently exists as MIL - HDBK -1568. The information in MIL - HDBK -1568 can still be used to develop the tailored DI-MFFP-81403...requiring the delivery of the Contractor CPCP. Further, MIL - HDBK -1568 is for aerospace systems. Consider this when tailoring your Contract Data...Dissimilar Metals.  MIL - HDBK -1568, Military Handbook: Materials and Processes for Corrosion Prevention and Control in Aerospace Weapons Systems (18 July

We conducted the first study that estimates the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of a population-based autism spectrum disorders (ASD) surveillancesystem developed at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The system employs a records-review methodology that yields ASD…

We developed two novel surveillancesystems for “Candidatus Liberibacter” (CL) species detection and identification. The first system is called “single tube dual primer Taq-Man PCR” (STDP). The procedure involves two sequential rounds of PCR using the CL asiaticus species-specific outer and inner pr...

This article considers the validity of estimates of intentional violence using a statewide injury recording system: the Alaska Trauma Registry (ATR). One benefit of using data from an injury surveillancesystem is that its records are generated without police involvement, thereby reducing the likelihood of undercounting. However, there is reason…

systems and directed efforts to define alternative system cosprae communication systems and configurations and protocols and to compare corporate ... communication systems for many their performance, primarily survivabilitiy and commercial clients. response time. His supervisory responribility Before his

Effective communication and coordination are critical when investigating a possible drinking water contamination incident. A contamination warning system is designed to detect water contamination by initiating a coordinated, effective response to mitigate significant public health and economic consequences. This article describes historical communication barriers during water contamination incidents and discusses how these barriers were overcome through the public health surveillance component of the Cincinnati Drinking Water Contamination Warning System, referred to as the "Cincinnati Pilot." By enhancing partnerships in the public health surveillance component of the Cincinnati Pilot, information silos that existed in each organization were replaced with interagency information depots that facilitated effective decision making.

To learn how outbreaks of infectious disease are detected and to describe the entities and information systems that together function to identify outbreaks in the U.S., the authors drew on multiple sources of information to create a description of existing surveillancesystems and how they interact to detect outbreaks. The results of this analysis were summarized in a system diagram. The authors reviewed a sample of recent outbreaks to determine how they were detected, with reference to the system diagram. The de facto U.S. system for detection of outbreaks consists of five components: the clinical health care system, local/state health agencies, federal agencies, academic/professional organizations, and collaborating governmental organizations. Primary data collection occurs at the level of clinical health care systems and local health agencies. The review of a convenience sample of outbreaks showed that all five components of the system participated in aggregating, analyzing, and sharing data. The authors conclude that the current U.S. approach to detection of disease outbreaks is complex and involves many organizations interacting in a loosely coupled manner. State and local health departments and the health care system are major components in the detection of outbreaks. PMID:15313109

Many studies have shown a positive association between both migration and temporary expatriation and HIV risk. This association is likely to be similar or even more pronounced for forced migrants. In general, HIV transmission in host-migrant or host-forced-migrant interactions depends on the maturity of the HIV epidemic in both the host and the migrant population, the relative seroprevalence of HIV in the host and the migrant population, the prevalence of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that may facilitate transmission, and the level of sexual interaction between the two communities. Complex emergencies are the major cause of mass population movement today. In complex emergencies, additional factors such as sexual interaction between forced-migrant populations and the military; sexual violence; increasing commercial sex work; psychological trauma; and disruption of preventive and curative health services may increase the risk for HIV transmission. Despite recent success in preventing HIV infection in stable populations in selected developing countries, internally displaced persons and refugees (or forced migrants) have not been systematically included in HIV surveillancesystems, nor consequently in prevention activities. Standard surveillancesystems that rely on functioning health services may not provide useful data in many complex emergency settings. Secondary sources can provide some information in these settings. Little attempt has been made, however, to develop innovative HIV surveillancesystems in countries affected by complex emergencies. Consequently, data on the HIV epidemic in these countries are scarce and HIV prevention programs are either not implemented or interventions are not effectively targeted. Second generation surveillance methods such as cross-sectional, population-based surveys can provide rapid information on HIV, STIs, and sexual behavior. The risks for stigmatization and breaches of confidentiality must be recognized

Syndromic surveillance is considered as one of the surveillance components for early warning of health-related events, as it allows detection of aberrations in health indicators before laboratory confirmation. "MoSS-Emergences 2" (MoSS-E2), a tool for veterinary syndromic surveillance, aggregates groups of similar clinical observations by hierarchical ascendant classification (HAC). In the present study, this HAC clustering process was evaluated using a reference set of data that, for the purpose of this evaluation, was a priori divided and defined as Bluetongue (BTV) positive cases (PC) on the one hand and BTV negative cases (NC) on the other hand. By comparing the clustering result of MoSS-E2 with the expected outcome, the sensitivity (the ability to cluster PC together) and specificity (the ability to exclude NC from PC) of the clustering process were determined for this set of data. The stability of the classes obtained with the clustering algorithm was evaluated by comparing the MoSS-E2 generated dendrogram (applying complete linkage) with dendrograms of STATA® software applying average and single linkage methods. To assess the systems' robustness, the parameters of the distance measure were adjusted according to different scenarios and obtained outcomes were compared to the expected outcome based on the a priori known labels. Rand indexes were calculated to measure similarity between clustering outcomes. The clustering algorithm in its default settings successfully segregated the reference BTV cases from the non-BTV cases, resulting in a sensitivity of 100.0% (95% CI: 89.0-100.0) and a specificity of 100.0% (95% CI: 80.0-100.0) for this set of data. The different linkage methods showed similar clustering results indicating stability of the classes (Rand indexes of respectively 0.77 for average and 0.75 for single linkage). The system proved to be robust when changing the parameters as the BTV cases remained together in meaningful clusters (Rand indexes

Context: Few validation studies of sport injury-surveillancesystems are available. Objective: To determine the validity of a Web-based system for surveillance of collegiate sport injuries, the Injury SurveillanceSystem (ISS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA). Design: Validation study comparing NCAA ISS data from 2 fall collegiate sports (men's and women's soccer) with other types of clinical records maintained by certified athletic trainers. Setting: A purposive sample of 15 NCAA colleges and universities that provided NCAA ISS data on both men's and women's soccer for at least 2 years during 2005–2007, stratified by playing division. Patients or Other Participants: A total of 737 men's and women's soccer athletes and 37 athletic trainers at these 15 institutions. Main Outcome Measure(s): The proportion of injuries captured by the NCAA ISS (capture rate) was estimated by comparing NCAA ISS data with the other clinical records on the same athletes maintained by the athletic trainers. We reviewed all athletic injury events resulting from participation in NCAA collegiate sports that resulted in 1 day or more of restricted activity in games or practices and necessitated medical care. A capture-recapture analysis estimated the proportion of injury events captured by the NCAA ISS. Agreement for key data fields was also measured. Results: We analyzed 664 injury events. The NCAA ISS captured 88.3% (95% confidence interval = 85.9%, 90.8%) of all time-lost medical-attention injury events. The proportion of injury events captured by the NCAA ISS was higher in Division I (93.8%) and Division II (89.6%) than in Division III (82.3%) schools. Agreement between the NCAA ISS data and the non–NCAA ISS data was good for the majority of data fields but low for date of full return and days lost from sport participation. Conclusions: The overall capture rate of the NCAA ISS was very good (88%) in men's and women's soccer for this period. PMID:22488136

Video sensors represent one facet of the unattended ground sensors family used to support military operations. This paper provides technical details on a modular, automated video surveillance (AVS) system concept that provides a 4D modeling and segmentation capability. This capability, combining 3D imaging and embedded information processing, enables the AVS to reliably detect and roughly classify objects and activities with a high probable certainty and minimal false alarms. The beneficial result is an elimination of the need for human monitoring and reduction in data transmission requirements by several orders of magnitude. This modular, forward observer AVS sensor package is comprised of integrated CMOS arrays and lenses (one for monoscopic view and two rigidly fixed for stereo), image processing, communication, GPS chips, and battery. This smart sensor is inexpensive, miniature, self-contained, and man-packable. Real-time video processing onboard the sensor provides: analysis and automatic target recognition algorithms enabling robust moving object detection; tracking and delimitation; and target characterization based on motion, size, form factor, texture, and specific identifying characteristics of objects. Automation of video screening tasks provides the benefits of visual surveillance without the associated burden or distraction from the mission. Because of its size and simplicity the AVS requires minimal man-in-the-field set up and lends itself to clandestine deployment.. In the future it may be possible to reliably and cost effectively air deploy the AVS. Each method offers great benefits as unmanned forward observers and sophisticated `tripwires' for battlefield awareness. While well suited for military reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition missions for peacetime and/or wartime applications, the AVS also lends itself to other clandestine applications such as drug interdiction surveillance, monitoring, and tip off.

In many countries or regions the capacity of health care resources is below the needs of the population and new approaches for health surveillance are needed. Innovative projects, utilizing wireless communication technology, contribute to reliable methods for field-work data collection and reporting to databases. The objective was to describe a new version of a wireless IT-support system for field-work data collection and administration. The system requirements were drawn from the design objective and translated to system functions. The system architecture was based on fieldwork experiences and administrative requirements. The Smartphone devices were HTC Touch Diamond2s, while the system was based on a platform with Microsoft .NET components, and a SQL Server 2005 with Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating system. The user interfaces were based on .NET programming, and Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system. A synchronization module enabled download of field data to the database, via a General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) to a Local Area Network (LAN) interface. The field-workers considered the here-described applications user-friendly and almost self-instructing. The office administrators considered that the back-office interface facilitated retrieval of health reports and invoice distribution. The current IT-support system facilitates short lead times from fieldwork data registration to analysis, and is suitable for various applications. The advantages of wireless technology, and paper-free data administration need to be increasingly emphasized in development programs, in order to facilitate reliable and transparent use of limited resources.

Background Before preventive actions can be suggested for sports injuries at the national level, a solid surveillancesystem is required in order to study their epidemiology, risk factors and mechanisms. There are guidelines for sports injury data collection and classifications in the literature for that purpose. In Sweden, 90% of all athletes (57/70 sports federations) are insured with the same insurance company and data from their database could be a foundation for studies on acute sports injuries at the national level. Objective To evaluate the usefulness of sports injury insurance claims data in sports injury surveillance at the national level. Method A database with 27 947 injuries was exported to an Excel file. Access to the corresponding text files was also obtained. Data were reviewed on available information, missing information and dropouts. Comparison with ASIDD (Australian Sports Injury Data Dictionary) and existing consensus statements in the literature (football (soccer), rugby union, tennis, cricket and thoroughbred horse racing) was performed in a structured manner. Result Comparison with ASIDD showed that 93% of the suggested data items were present in the database to at least some extent. Compliance with the consensus statements was generally high (13/18). Almost all claims (83%) contained text information concerning the injury. Conclusions Relatively high-quality sports injury data can be obtained from a specific insurance company at the national level in Sweden. The database has the potential to be a solid base for research on acute sports injuries in different sports at the national level. PMID:24928588

Algorithms for synergistically fusing acoustic and optical sensory inputs, thereby mimicking biological attentional processes are described. Manual existing perimeter defense surveillancesystems using more than one sensory modality combine different sensors' information to corroborate findings by other sensors and to add data from a second modality. In contrast to how conventional systems work, animals use information from multiple sensory inputs in a way that improves each sensory system's performance. We demonstrated that performance is enhanced when information in one modality is used to focus processing in the other modality (a form of attention). This synergistic bi-modal operation improves surveillance efficacy by focusing auditory and visual "attention" on a particular target or location. Algorithms for focusing auditory and visual sensors using detection information were developed. These combination algorithms perform "zoom-with-enhanced-acuity" in both the visual and auditory domains, triggered by detection in either domain. Sensory-input processing algorithms focus on specific locations, indicated by at least one of the modalities. This spatially focused processing emulates biological attention-driven focusing. We showed that given information about the target, the acoustic algorithms were able to achieve over 80% correct target detection at signal-tonoise ratios (SNRs) of -20 dB and above, as compared with similar performance at SNRs of -10 db and above without target information from another modality. Similarly, the visual algorithm achieved performance of over 80% detection with added noise variance of 0.001 without target indication, but maintained 100% detection at added noise variance of 0.05 when acoustic target information was taken into account.

An industrial hygiene exposure database and surveillancesystem was developed in partnership between National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded independent investigators and practicing industrial hygienists at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site (RFETS) in Golden, Colo. RFETS is a former U.S. Department of Energy nuclear weapons plant that is now in cleanup phase. This project is presented as a case study in the development of an exposure database and surveillancesystem in terms that are generalizable to most other industries and work contexts. Steps include gaining organizational support; defining system purpose and scope; defining database elements and coding; planning practical and efficient analysis strategies; incorporating reporting capabilities; and anticipating communication strategies that maximize the probability that surveillance findings will feed back to preventive applications. For each of these topics, the authors describe both general considerations as well as the specific choices made for this system. An important feature of the system is a two-tier task-coding scheme comprising 33 categories of task groups. Examples of grouped analyses of exposure data captured during the system pilot period demonstrate applications to exposure control, medical surveillance, and other preventive measures.

This paper presents a novel surveillancesystem aimed at the detection and classification of threats in the vicinity of a long gas pipeline. The sensing system is based on phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (ϕ-OTDR) technology for signal acquisition and pattern recognition strategies for threat identification. The proposal incorporates contextual information at the feature level and applies a system combination strategy for pattern classification. The contextual information at the feature level is based on the tandem approach (using feature representations produced by discriminatively-trained multi-layer perceptrons) by employing feature vectors that spread different temporal contexts. The system combination strategy is based on a posterior combination of likelihoods computed from different pattern classification processes. The system operates in two different modes: (1) machine + activity identification, which recognizes the activity being carried out by a certain machine, and (2) threat detection, aimed at detecting threats no matter what the real activity being conducted is. In comparison with a previous system based on the same rigorous experimental setup, the results show that the system combination from the contextual feature information improves the results for each individual class in both operational modes, as well as the overall classification accuracy, with statistically-significant improvements.

We illustrate a multiple-camera surveillancesystem installed in a parking garage to detect arbitrary moving objects. Our system is real-time capable and computes precise and reliable object positions. These objects are tracked to warn of collisions, e.g. between vehicles, pedestrians or other vehicles. The proposed system is based on multiple grayscale cameras connected by a local area network. Each camera shares its field of view with other cameras to handle occlusions and to enable multi-view vision. We aim at using already installed hardware found in many modern public parking garages. The system's pipeline starts with the synchronized image capturing process separately for each camera. In the next step, moving objects are selected by a foreground segmentation approach. Subsequently, the foreground objects from a single camera are transformed into view rays in a common world coordinate system and are joined to receive plausible object hypotheses. This transformation requires a one-time initial intrinsic and extrinsic calibration beforehand. Afterwards, these view rays are filtered temporally to arrive at continuous object tracks. In our experiments we used a precise LIDAR-based reference system to evaluate and quantify the proposed system's precision with a mean localization accuracy of 0.24m for different scenarios.

This paper presents a novel surveillancesystem aimed at the detection and classification of threats in the vicinity of a long gas pipeline. The sensing system is based on phase-sensitive optical time domain reflectometry (ϕ-OTDR) technology for signal acquisition and pattern recognition strategies for threat identification. The proposal incorporates contextual information at the feature level and applies a system combination strategy for pattern classification. The contextual information at the feature level is based on the tandem approach (using feature representations produced by discriminatively-trained multi-layer perceptrons) by employing feature vectors that spread different temporal contexts. The system combination strategy is based on a posterior combination of likelihoods computed from different pattern classification processes. The system operates in two different modes: (1) machine + activity identification, which recognizes the activity being carried out by a certain machine, and (2) threat detection, aimed at detecting threats no matter what the real activity being conducted is. In comparison with a previous system based on the same rigorous experimental setup, the results show that the system combination from the contextual feature information improves the results for each individual class in both operational modes, as well as the overall classification accuracy, with statistically-significant improvements. PMID:28208687

degree, especially at the strategic and operational levels. One possible method of improving the DDM skills of CF personnel is the application of ’ systems ... thinking ’, in particular, the possibility that a limited number of recurring patterns (archetypes) can be used to explain all military situations and

Public health researchers have used a class of statistical methods to calculate prevalence estimates for small geographic areas with few direct observations. Many researchers have used Behavioral Risk Factor SurveillanceSystem (BRFSS) data as a basis for their models. The aims of this study were to 1) describe a new BRFSS small area estimation (SAE) method and 2) investigate the internal and external validity of the BRFSS SAEs it produced. The BRFSS SAE method uses 4 data sets (the BRFSS, the American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Sample, Nielsen Claritas population totals, and the Missouri Census Geographic Equivalency File) to build a single weighted data set. Our findings indicate that internal and external validity tests were successful across many estimates. The BRFSS SAE method is one of several methods that can be used to produce reliable prevalence estimates in small geographic areas. PMID:27418213

A system and method for monitoring an apparatus or process asset including creating a process model comprised of a plurality of process submodels each correlative to at least one training data subset partitioned from an unpartitioned training data set and each having an operating mode associated thereto; acquiring a set of observed signal data values from the asset; determining an operating mode of the asset for the set of observed signal data values; selecting a process submodel from the process model as a function of the determined operating mode of the asset; calculating a set of estimated signal data values from the selected process submodel for the determined operating mode; and determining asset status as a function of the calculated set of estimated signal data values for providing asset surveillance and/or control.

A system and method for monitoring an apparatus or process asset including partitioning an unpartitioned training data set into a plurality of training data subsets each having an operating mode associated thereto; creating a process model comprised of a plurality of process submodels each trained as a function of at least one of the training data subsets; acquiring a current set of observed signal data values from the asset; determining an operating mode of the asset for the current set of observed signal data values; selecting a process submodel from the process model as a function of the determined operating mode of the asset; calculating a current set of estimated signal data values from the selected process submodel for the determined operating mode; and outputting the calculated current set of estimated signal data values for providing asset surveillance and/or control.

The ecological indexes called diversity (H') and equitability (J') of the mosquito species were determined in six of the most common reservoirs of the urban ecosystem in the Plaza de la Revolución municipality, City of Havana. Data analysis showed that according to the values of these indexes, the most dangerous reservoirs were tyres, larvitraps and artificial reservoirs in general. Reference is also made on the use of larvitraps in the surveillancesystem of Aedes aegypti and the detection and stabilization of mosquitoes such as Aedes mediovittatus and Culex migripalpus in the urban ecosystem. The variety of species ranged from 2 to 7 in the studied reservoirs which showed differences in the patterns of use of the resources in the urban ecosystem.

This paper presents an object occlusion detection algorithm using object depth information that is estimated by automatic camera calibration. The object occlusion problem is a major factor to degrade the performance of object tracking and recognition. To detect an object occlusion, the proposed algorithm consists of three steps: (i) automatic camera calibration using both moving objects and a background structure; (ii) object depth estimation; and (iii) detection of occluded regions. The proposed algorithm estimates the depth of the object without extra sensors but with a generic red, green and blue (RGB) camera. As a result, the proposed algorithm can be applied to improve the performance of object tracking and object recognition algorithms for video surveillancesystems.

stewardship. Units practicing doctrinaire approaches do not reinforce or nest with higher concepts, which are 5Major General (R) Robert H. Scales , “Too...Evaluation Reporting System. The ability for an officer to measure the scale of the system in which they are making decisions is possible through...in the unit system. The distinction of these systems is in their purpose and scale . The individual system is set at a scale that facilitates reason

Competencies for military nurses are much broader in scope than their civilian counterparts. Not only must they be proficient at basic nursing skills, but they must also quickly master such military skills as protecting themselves and others during attack or threat of attack, caring for major trauma victims under austere conditions, and preparing such patients for transport through the militarysystem of evacuation. This requires consistent and specialized training. This article describes the competencies necessary for practice by military nurses.

Corynebacterium bovis causes an opportunistic infection of nude (Foxn1, nu/nu) mice, leading to nude mouse hyperkeratotic dermatitis (scaly skin disease). Enzootic in many nude mouse colonies, C. bovis spreads rapidly to naive nude mice, despite modern husbandry practices, and is very difficult to eradicate. To facilitate rapid detection in support of eradication efforts, we investigated a surveillance method based on quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) evaluation of swabs collected from the horizontal exhaust manifold (HEM) of an IVC rack system. We first evaluated the efficacy of rack sanitation methods for removing C. bovis DNA from the HEM of racks housing endemic colonies of infected nude mice. Pressurized water used to flush the racks' air exhaust system followed by a standard rack-washer cycle was ineffective in eliminating C. bovis DNA. Only after autoclaving did all sanitized racks test negative for C. bovis DNA. We then measured the effects of stage of infection (early or established), cage density, and cage location on the rack on time-to-detection at the HEM. Stage of infection significantly affected time-to-detection, independent of cage location. Early infections required 7.3 ± 1.2 d whereas established infections required 1 ± 0 d for detection of C. bovis at the HEM. Cage density influenced the quantity of C. bovis DNA detected but not time-to-detection. The location of the cage on the rack affected the time-to-detection only during early C. bovis infections. We suggest that qPCR swabs of HEM are useful during the routine surveillance of nude mouse colonies for C. bovis infection.

In 2001 there were 104,187 notifications of communicable diseases in Australia reported to the National Notifiable Diseases SurveillanceSystem (NNDSS). The number of notifications in 2001 was an increase of 16 per cent of those reported in 2000 (89,740) and the largest annual total since the NNDSS commenced in 1991. In 2001, nine new diseases were added to the list of diseases reported to NNDSS and four diseases were removed. The new diseases were cryptosporidiosis, laboratory-confirmed influenza, invasive pneumococcal disease, Japanese encephalitis, Kunjin virus infection, Murray Valley encephalitis virus infection, anthrax, Australian bat lyssavirus, and other lyssaviruses (not elsewhere classified). Bloodborne virus infections remained the most frequently notified disease (29,057 reports, 27.9% of total), followed by sexually transmitted infections (27,647, 26.5%), gastrointestinal diseases (26,086, 25%), vaccine preventable diseases (13,030 (12.5%), vectorborne diseases (5,294, 5.1%), other bacterial infections (1,978, 1.9%), zoonotic infections (1,091, 1%) and four cases of quarantinable diseases. In 2001 there were increases in the number of notifications of incident hepatitis C, chlamydial infections, pertussis, Barmah Forest virus infection and ornithosis. There were decreases in the number of notifications of hepatitis A, Haemophilus influenzae type b infections, measles, rubella, Ross River virus infections and brucellosis. This report also summarises data on communicable diseases from other surveillancesystems including the Laboratory Virology and Serology Reporting Scheme and sentinel general practitioner schemes. In addition, this report comments on other important developments in communicable disease control in Australia in 2001.

Corynebacterium bovis causes an opportunistic infection of nude (Foxn1, nu/nu) mice, leading to nude mouse hyperkeratotic dermatitis (scaly skin disease). Enzootic in many nude mouse colonies, C. bovis spreads rapidly to naive nude mice, despite modern husbandry practices, and is very difficult to eradicate. To facilitate rapid detection in support of eradication efforts, we investigated a surveillance method based on quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) evaluation of swabs collected from the horizontal exhaust manifold (HEM) of an IVC rack system. We first evaluated the efficacy of rack sanitation methods for removing C. bovis DNA from the HEM of racks housing endemic colonies of infected nude mice. Pressurized water used to flush the racks’ air exhaust system followed by a standard rack-washer cycle was ineffective in eliminating C. bovis DNA. Only after autoclaving did all sanitized racks test negative for C. bovis DNA. We then measured the effects of stage of infection (early or established), cage density, and cage location on the rack on time-to-detection at the HEM. Stage of infection significantly affected time-to-detection, independent of cage location. Early infections required 7.3 ± 1.2 d whereas established infections required 1 ± 0 d for detection of C. bovis at the HEM. Cage density influenced the quantity of C. bovis DNA detected but not time-to-detection. The location of the cage on the rack affected the time-to-detection only during early C. bovis infections. We suggest that qPCR swabs of HEM are useful during the routine surveillance of nude mouse colonies for C. bovis infection. PMID:26817981

Air pollutants, such as particulate matter with a diameter ≤2.5 microns (PM2.5) and ozone (O3), are known to exacerbate asthma and other respiratory diseases. An integrated surveillancesystem that tracks such air pollutants and associated disease incidence can assist in risk assessment, healthcare preparedness and public awareness. However, the implementation of such an integrated environmental health surveillancesystem is a challenge due to the disparate sources of many types of data and the implementation becomes even more complicated for a spatial and real-time system due to lack of standardised technological components and data incompatibility. In addition, accessing and utilising health data that are considered as Protected Health Information (PHI) require maintaining stringent protocols, which have to be supported by the system. This paper aims to illustrate the development of a spatial surveillancesystem (GeoMedStat) that is capable of tracking daily environmental pollutants along with both daily and historical patient encounter data. It utilises satellite data and the groundmonitor data from the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Environemental Protection Agenecy (EPA), rspectively as inputs estimating air pollutants and is linked to hospital information systems for accessing chief complaints and disease classification codes. The components, developmental methods, functionality of GeoMedStat and its use as a real-time environmental health surveillancesystem for asthma and other respiratory syndromes in connection with with PM2.5 and ozone are described. It is expected that the framework presented will serve as an example to others developing real-time spatial surveillancesystems for pollutants and hospital visits.

This article describes a melding of a government-sponsored architecture for complex systems with open systems engineering architecture developed by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Our experience in using these two architectures in building a complex healthcare system is described in this paper. The work described shows that it is possible to combine these two architectural frameworks in describing the systems, operational, and technical views of a complex automation system. The advantage in combining the two architectural frameworks lies in the simplicity of implementation and ease of understanding of automation system architectural elements by medical professionals.

The Ontario Farm call Surveillance Project (OFSP) was a practitioner-based, syndromic surveillancesystem for livestock disease. Three data-recording methods (paper, web-based, and handheld electronic) used by participating veterinarians were compared for timeliness (when the report arrived at the OFSP office), completeness of the report, and the usage and costs of incentives offered to veterinarians as compensation for their time to record data. There were no statistically significant differences in these parameters among the 3 data-recording methods. This indicates that different data-recording methods can be used within a single veterinary surveillance program while maintaining data integrity and timely reporting. Factors such as ease of data collection and providing incentives valued by veterinarians ensured high compliance and long-term participation in the project. It also increased the diversity of the participant group, reducing the likelihood of biased data submissions.

West Nile virus (WNV) and Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) represent an important group of viral agents responsible for vector-borne zoonotic diseases constituting an emerging sanitary threat for the Mediterranean Basin and the neighbouring countries. WNV infection is present in several Mediterranean countries, whereas RVF has never been introduced into Europe, but it is considered a major threat for North African countries. Being vector-borne diseases, they cannot be prevented only through an animal trade control policy. Several approaches are used for the surveillance of WNV and RVFV. With the aim of assessing the surveillancesystems in place in Mediterranean countries, two disease-specific questionnaires (WNV, RVFV) have been prepared and submitted to Public Health and Veterinary Authorities of six EU countries. This study presents the information gathered through the questionnaires and describes some critical points in the prevention and surveillance of these diseases as emerged by the answers received.

random lead times and cannibalization R. Zhang NSERC Visiting Fellow A. Ghanmi DRDC – Centre for Operational Research and Analysis Defence Research and...Development Canada Scientific Report DRDC-RDDC-2014-R165 December 2014 Detailed maintenance planning for militarysystems with random lead times and...the operational level, where cannibalization operations are allowed and repair lead times are random. The study addresses the problem of maintenance

A system for global inventory control of electronically tagged military hardware is achievable using a LEO satellite constellation. An equipment Tag can communicate directly to the satellite with a power of 5 watts or less at a data rate of 2400 to 50,000 bps. As examples, two proposed commercial LEO systems, IRIDIUM and ORBCOMM, are both capable of providing global coverage but with dramatically different telecom capacities. Investigation of these two LEO systems as applied to the Tag scenario provides insight into satellite design trade-offs, constellation trade-offs and signal dynamics that effect the performance of a satellite-based global inventory control system.

Global efforts have markedly decreased the disease burden of vaccine-preventable diseases. Many countries have made considerable progress toward the elimination of measles. As elimination is approached, the very low incidence achieved by high vaccination coverage has underscored the need for a sensitive and timely surveillancesystem. In the Republic of Korea, an active laboratory surveillancesystem (ALSS) was implemented to supplement the existing passive surveillancesystem in 2006. The ALSS connects 5 major commercial laboratories and the national measles reference laboratory, where referred samples with positive or equivocal results are retested. Annually, from 2009 to 2013, 3714 suspected cases were detected through the ALSS, an expansion of 8- to 57-fold, compared with only the passive surveillancesystem. The ALSS, with its sensitivity and timeliness, is a reasonable strategy to supplement the existing measles surveillancesystem and to help identify the elimination of measles.

From 1994 through 1996, federal, state, and nongovernmental organizations in Mexico and in the United States of America developed and piloted a Binational Health Information System for Epidemiological Surveillance of Mexican migrant workers. The system allowed data exchange for epidemiological surveillance between the state of Guanajuato in Mexico and the Commonwealth (state) of Pennsylvania in the United States, for case detection, prevention, and treatment, through shared contact investigation and case management of communicable diseases. The target population consisted of migrant workers traveling between Guanajuato and Pennsylvania to work mainly in the mushroom industry, and their sexual partners in their Mexican communities of origin. Computerized migrant health information modules were set up in Guanajuato and in Pennsylvania. Patient information and epidemiological surveillance data were encrypted and communicated electronically between the modules, using the WONDER communications system of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Evaluation of the Guanajuato-Pennsylvania Binational Health Information System showed that major barriers to binational epidemiological surveillance and control are: a) lack of communication binationally; b) interrupted medical care due to migration; c) inconsistent diagnosis and treatment criteria between the two countries; d) lack of referral clinical records from one country to the other; and e) deficient legal regulations concerning binational clinical data transfer. To our knowledge, this is the first project that has successfully demonstrated the technological feasibility of a binational disease control system linking a state in the interior of one country with a state in the interior of another country, rather than just states in the border region. The project also advanced the understanding of health service organizational issues that facilitate or hinder communication, outreach, disease prevention, and

On January 12, 2010, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti disrupted infrastructure and displaced approximately 2 million persons, causing increased risk for communicable diseases from overcrowding and poor living conditions. Hundreds of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) established health-care clinics in camps of internally displaced persons (IDPs). To monitor conditions of outbreak potential identified at NGO camp clinics, on February 18, the Haiti Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), and CDC implemented the IDP SurveillanceSystem (IDPSS). The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) "cluster approach" was used to coordinate the Haiti humanitarian response. One of 11 clusters, the Global Health Cluster (GHC), builds global capacity, whereas the country-level cluster (in this case, the Haitian Health Cluster [HHC], led by PAHO) responds locally. During the Haiti response, HHC engaged NGOs serving large camps, established IDPSS, followed trends of reportable conditions, undertook epidemiologic and laboratory investigations, and fostered implementation of control measures. This report describes the design and implementation of IDPSS in the post-earthquake period. The primary challenges to implementing IDPSS were communication difficulties with an ever-changing group of NGO partners and limitations to the utility of IDPSS data because of lack of reliable camp population denominator estimates. The IDPSS experience reinforces the need to improve local communication and coordination strategies. Improving future humanitarian response requires advance development and distribution of easily adaptable standard surveillance tools, development of an interdisciplinary strategy for an early and reliable population census, and development of communication strategies using locally available Internet and cellular networks.

Infectious diseases still represent a major challenge for humanity. In this context, their surveillance is critical. From 2010 to 2016, two Point-Of-Care (POC) laboratories have been successfully implemented in the rural Saloum region of Senegal. In parallel, a homemade syndromic surveillancesystem called EPIMIC was implemented to monitor infectious diseases using data produced by the POC laboratory of the Timone hospital in Marseille, France. The aim of this study is to describe the steps necessary for implementing EPIMIC using data routinely produced by two POC laboratories (POC-L) established in rural Senegal villages. After improving EPIMIC, we started to monitor the 15 pathogens routinely diagnosed in the two POC-L using the same methodology we used in France. In 5 years, 2,577 deduplicated patients-samples couples from 775 different patients have been tested in the Dielmo and Ndiop POC-L. 739 deduplicated patients-samples couples were found to be positive to at least one of the tested pathogens. The retrospective analysis of the Dielmo and Ndiop POC data with EPIMIC allowed to generate 443 alarms. Since January 2016, 316 deduplicated patients-samples couples collected from 298 different patients were processed in the Niakhar POC laboratory. 56 deduplicated patients-samples couples were found to be positive to at least one of the tested pathogens. The retrospective analysis of the data of the Niakhar POC laboratory with EPIMIC allowed to generate 14 alarms. Although some improvements are still needed, EPIMIC has been successfully spread using data routinely produced by two rural POC-L in Senegal, West Africa. PMID:27926917

Postmarketing drug surveillance is a crucial aspect of the clinical research activities in pharmacovigilance and pharmacoepidemiology. Successful utilization of available Electronic Health Record (EHR) data can complement and strengthen postmarketing safety studies. In terms of the secondary use of EHRs, access and analysis of patient data across different domains are a critical factor; we address this data interoperability problem between EHR systems and clinical research systems in this paper. We demonstrate that this problem can be solved in an upper level with the use of common data elements in a standardized fashion so that clinical researchers can work with different EHR systems independently of the underlying information model. Postmarketing Safety Study Tool lets the clinical researchers extract data from different EHR systems by designing data collection set schemas through common data elements. The tool interacts with a semantic metadata registry through IHE data element exchange profile. Postmarketing Safety Study Tool and its supporting components have been implemented and deployed on the central data warehouse of the Lombardy region, Italy, which contains anonymized records of about 16 million patients with over 10-year longitudinal data on average. Clinical researchers in Roche validate the tool with real life use cases. PMID:26543873

Over the last year the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program has made significant progress and now consists of two simultaneously-operating, autonomous search systems on the 1.2-m (48") telescopes: on the Maui Space SurveillanceSystem (NEAT/MSSS) and NEAT/Palomar on the Palomar Observatory's Oschin telescope. This paper will focus exclusively on the NEAT/MSSS system. NEAT/MSSS is operated as a partnership between NASA/JPL and the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), utilizing the AFRL 1.2-m telescope on the 3000-m summit of Haleakala, Maui, The USAF Space Command (SPCMD) contributed financial support to build and install the 'NEAT focal reducer' on the MSSS 1.2-m telescope giving it a large field of view (2.5 square degrees), suitable for the near-earth object (NEO),both asteroids and comets, survey. This work was completed in February 2000. AFRL has made a commitment to NEAT/MSSS that allows NEAT to operate full time with the understanding that AFRL participate as partners in NEAT/MSSS and have use of the NEAT camera system for high priority satellite observations during bright time (parts of 12 nights each month). Currently, NEAT has discovered 42 NEAs including 12 larger than 1-km, 5 Potentially Hazardous Asteroids (PHAs), 6 comets, and nearly 25,000 asteroid detections since March 2000.

Although avian influenza (AI) virus of H5 and H7 subtypes has the potential to mutate to a highly pathogenic form and cause very high mortalities in some poultry species, most AI infections in poultry are due to low pathogenic AI (LPAI). Hence serological surveys, coupled with passive surveillance activities, are essential to detect sub-clinical infections by LPAI viruses, H5 and H7 subtypes. However the proper planning of an active surveillancesystem should be based on a careful estimation of its performance. Therefore, the sensitivity of the active surveillancesystem for AI in the western region of Cuba was assessed by a stochastic model quantifying the probability of revealing at least one animal infected by H5 or H7 subtype. The diagnostic sensitivity of the haemagglutination inhibition assay and different levels of within-flock prevalence (5%, 12% and 30%) were considered. The sensitivity of the surveillancesystem was then assessed under five different samples size scenarios: testing 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 animals in each flock. Poultry flock sites in the western region of Cuba with a size ranging from 10,000 to 335,000 birds were included in the study.

Exposure to explosive armaments during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom contributed to approximately 14% of the 352 612 traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnoses in the US military between 2000 and 2016. The US Department of Defense issued guidelines in 2009 to (1) standardize TBI diagnostic criteria; (2) classify TBI according to mechanism and severity; (3) categorize TBI symptoms as somatic, psychological, or cognitive; and (4) systematize types of care given during the acute and rehabilitation stages of TBI treatment. Polytrauma and associated psychological and neurologic conditions may create barriers to optimal rehabilitation from TBI. Given the completion of recent combat operations and the transition of TBI patients into long-term care within the US Department of Veterans Affairs system, a review of the literature concerning TBI is timely. Long-term follow-up care for patients who have sustained TBI will remain a critical issue for the US military.

This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of an US Army technology security project designed to identify and develop effective policy guidelines for militarily critical technologies in specific Army systems and in broad generic technology areas of military interest, Individual systems analyses are documented in separate Weapons Systems Technical Assessments (WSTAs) and the general generic technology areas are evaluated in the Advanced Technology Assessment Reports (ATARs), However, specific details of these assessments are not addressed here, only recommendations regarding aspects of the defined approach, methodology, and format are provided and discussed.

FOR MILITARY VEHICLES Stanley Jones, PhD Science Applications International Corporation Evergreen , CO John Mendoza, PhD Science Applications...system and high temperature (HT) cooling system in succession . Ballistic grilles at both the inlet and outlet of the cooling pathway have been...the 20°C evaporator / 70°C condenser case demonstrates the lowest overall metric. This plot demonstrates the importance of reducing the heat

The new German Drinking Water Ordinance (TrinkwV 2001) demands that the requirements of water intended for human consumption be met up to the intrinsic tap, at which the water is used. This also applies to water supply systems for food trade aboard non-stationary facilities and in vehicles for commercial purposes. In contrast to stationary units for drinking water supply, the nonstationary units relocate and the responsibility changes with each public health authority agent. Therefore, a coordinated action between the federal states is desirable and necessary. The experience of the public health departments presents many non-compliant parameters of microbiology in water supply systems on markets and in vehicles. The development of practical and consistent recommendations for the surveillance of non-stationary units is required to give consistent standards to the users. The article gives a review about legal foundations and technical rules in order to define the drinking water supply systems on markets and in vehicles in compliance with the German Drinking Water Ordinance. Examples of laboratory results from different monitoring episodes from three federal states are shown.

In this paper, we propose an application of a compressive imaging system to the problem of wide-area video surveillancesystems. A parallel coded aperture compressive imaging system is proposed to reduce the needed high resolution coded mask requirements and facilitate the storage of the projection matrix. Random Gaussian, Toeplitz and binary phase coded masks are utilized to obtain the compressive sensing images. The corresponding motion targets detection and tracking algorithms directly using the compressive sampling images are developed. A mixture of Gaussian distribution is applied in the compressive image space to model the background image and for foreground detection. For each motion target in the compressive sampling domain, a compressive feature dictionary spanned by target templates and noises templates is sparsely represented. An l(1) optimization algorithm is used to solve the sparse coefficient of templates. Experimental results demonstrate that low dimensional compressed imaging representation is sufficient to determine spatial motion targets. Compared with the random Gaussian and Toeplitz phase mask, motion detection algorithms using a random binary phase mask can yield better detection results. However using random Gaussian and Toeplitz phase mask can achieve high resolution reconstructed image. Our tracking algorithm can achieve a real time speed that is up to 10 times faster than that of the l(1) tracker without any optimization.

Electro-optical surveillance and reconnaissance systems are frequently mounted on unstable or vibrating platforms such as ships, vehicles, aircraft and masts. Mechanical coupling between the platform and the cameras leads to angular vibration of the line of sight. Image motion during detector and eye integration times leads to image smear and a resulting loss of resolution. Additional effects are wavy images for detectors based on a rolling shutter mechanism and annoying movement of the image at low frequencies. A good stabilization system should yield sub-pixel stabilization errors and meet cost and size requirements. There are two main families of LOS stabilization methods: opto-mechanical stabilization and electronic stabilization. Each family, or a combination of both, can be implemented by a number of different techniques of varying complexity, size and cost leading to different levels of stabilization. Opto-mechanical stabilization is typically based on gyro readings, whereas electronic stabilization is typically based on gyro readings or image registration calculations. A few common stabilization techniques, as well as options for different gimbal arrangements will be described and analyzed. The relative merits and drawbacks of the different techniques and their applicability to specific systems and environments will be discussed. Over the years Controp has developed a large number of stabilized electro-optical payloads. A few examples of payloads with unique stabilization mechanisms will be described.

In 2012, the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared completion of polio eradication a programmatic emergency. Polio cases are detected through surveillance of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases and subsequent testing of stool specimens for polioviruses (PVs) at WHO-accredited laboratories within the Global Polio Laboratory Network (GPLN). AFP surveillance is supplemented by environmental surveillance, testing sewage samples from selected sites for PVs. Virologic surveillance, including genomic sequencing to identify isolates by genotype and measure divergence between isolates, guides Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) activities by confirming the presence of PV, tracking chains of PV transmission, and highlighting gaps in AFP surveillance quality. This report provides AFP surveillance quality indicators at national and subnational levels during 2012-2013 for countries that experienced PV cases during 2009-2013 in the WHO African Region (AFR) and Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), the remaining polio-endemic regions. It also summarizes the results of environmental surveillance and reviews indicators assessing the timeliness of reporting of PV isolation and of virus strain characterization globally. Regional-level performance indicators for timely reporting of PV isolation were met in five of six WHO regions in 2012 and 2013. Of 30 AFR and EMR countries that experienced cases of PV (wild poliovirus [WPV], circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus [cVDPV], or both) during 2009-2013, national performance indicator targets for AFP surveillance and collection of adequate specimens were met in 27 (90%) countries in 2012 and 22 (73%) in 2013. In 17 (57%) countries, ≥80% of the population lived in subnational areas meeting both AFP performance indicators in 2012, decreasing to 13 (43%) in 2013. To achieve polio eradication and certify interruption of PV transmission, intensive efforts to strengthen and maintain AFP surveillance are

User satisfaction with a computerized practitioner order-entry (POE) system at two military health care facilities was studied. A survey was mailed in May 1998 to providers authorized to enter drug orders into the Composite Health Care System (CHCS) (including two clinical pharmacists) and pharmacy staff members at two department of defense (DOD) medical treatment facilities. Of 189 questionnaires with the potential to be returned completed, 112 were usable, for a net response rate of 59.3%. The internal consistency of the survey items measuring user satisfaction (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.86. The typical respondent was male, was employed by the DOD, had fair to excellent computer and typing skills, had received eight hours or less of training on the CHCS POE system, had been using the system for two years or less, and had been a health care practitioner for 10 years or less. Overall, users were satisfied with the POE system (mean +/- S.D. rating of 3.78 +/- 0.87 on a 5-point scale where 5 represented the highest satisfaction level). Satisfaction was correlated most strongly with ratings of the POE system's efficiency. Nonphysicians were more satisfied, on average, than physicians. No significant relationship was found between other individual characteristics and satisfaction. Qualitative analysis reinforced the finding that users were interested in efficiency issues. Overall, users at two military health care facilities were satisfied with a computerized POE system. Satisfaction was most strongly correlated with the perceived efficiency of the system.

The evidence presented in this paper questions whether the current U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) system of in-kind subsidies for child care is meeting DoD recruitment, readiness, and retention goals or service member needs in an optimal way. DoD appears to be reaping limited benefits from the substantial subsidies provided to families that use…

The global scale, multiple units, diverse operating scenarios and complex authority structure of the Department of Defense Military Health System (MHS) create social boundaries that tend to reduce communication and collaboration about data security. Under auspices of the Defense Health Information Assurance Program (DHIAP), the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) is contributing to the MHS's efforts to prepare for and comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 through organizational and technological innovations that bridge such boundaries. Building interdisciplinary (clinical, administrative and information technology) medical information security readiness teams (MISRT) at each military treatment facility (MTF) constitutes the heart of this process. DHIAP is equipping and training MISRTs to use new tools including 'OCTAVE', a self-directed risk assessment instrument and 'RIMR', a web-enabled Risk Information Management Resource. DHIAP sponsors an interdisciplinary, triservice workgroup for review and revision of relevant DoD and service policies and participates in formal DoD health information assurance activities. These activities help promote a community of proponents across the MHS supportive of improved health information assurance. The MHS HIPAA-compliance effort teaches important general lessons about organizational reform in large civilian or military enterprises.

The patient-centered medical home (PCMH) is a primary care model that aims to provide quality care that is coordinated, comprehensive, and cost-effective. PCMH is hinged upon building a strong patient-provider relationship and using a team-based approach to care to increase continuity and access. It is anticipated that PCMH can curb the growth of health care costs through better preventative medicine and lower utilization of services. The Navy, Air Force, and Army are implementing versions of PCMH, which includes the use of technologies for improved documentation, better disease management, improved communication between the care teams and patients, and increased access to care. This article examines PCMH in the Military Health System by providing examples of the transition from each of the branches. The authors argue that the military must overcome unique challenges to implement and sustain PCMH that civilian providers may not face because of the deployment of patients and staff, the military's mission of readiness, and the use of both on-base and off-base care by beneficiaries. Our objective is to lay out these considerations and to provide ways that they have been or can be addressed within the transition from traditional primary care to PCMH.

This status report on the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program (CHIRPP), an emergency department-based injury and poisoning surveillancesystem, describes the result of migrating from a centralized data entry and coding process to a decentralized process, the web-based eCHIRPP system, in 2011. This secure system is improving the CHIRPP's overall flexibility and timeliness, which are key attributes of an effective surveillancesystem. The integrated eCHIRPP platform enables near real-time data entry and access, has user-friendly data management and analysis tools, and allows for easier communication and connectivity across the CHIRPP network through an online collaboration centre. Current pilot testing of automated data monitoring and trend analysis tools-designed to monitor and flag incoming data according to predefined criteria (for example, a new consumer product)-is revealing eCHIRPP's potential for providing early warnings of new hazards, issues and trends.

Over the past several years many advances have been made to monitor potable water systems for toxic threats. However, the need for real-time, on-line systems to detect the malicious introduction of deadly pathogens still exists. Municipal water distribution systems, government facilities and buildings, and high profile public events remain vulnerable to terrorist-related biological contamination. After years of research and development, an instrument using multi-angle light scattering (MALS) technology has been introduced to achieve on-line, real-time detection and classification of a waterborne pathogen event. The MALS system utilizes a continuous slip stream of water passing through a flow cell in the instrument. A laser beam, focused perpendicular to the water flow, strikes particles as they pass through the beam generating unique light scattering patterns that are captured by photodetectors. Microorganisms produce patterns termed 'bio-optical signatures' which are comparable to fingerprints. By comparing these bio-optical signatures to an on-board database of microorganism patterns, detection and classification occurs within minutes. If a pattern is not recognized, it is classified as an 'unknown' and the unidentified contaminant is registered as a potential threat. In either case, if the contaminant exceeds a customer's threshold, the system will immediately alert personnel to the contamination event while extracting a sample for confirmation. The system, BioSentry TM, developed by JMAR Technologies is now field-tested and commercially available. BioSentry is cost effective, uses no reagents, operates remotely, and can be used for continuous microbial surveillance in many water treatment environments. Examples of HLS installations will be presented along with data from the US EPA NHSRC Testing and Evaluation Facility.

status of their network (s). Sensor deployment has begun at Internet access points to monitor and control access and network traffic flow. These...Einstein sensors provide monitoring of network ingress and egress through a system of mostly COTS network monitoring tools driven by the NSA-provided...Situational Awareness Sensor deployment has begun at Internet access points to monitor and control access and network traffic flow. Commercial tools have

users who are joining different networks. The design of SIT [2] relies on these three pillars: • native IP(v4 and v6) based system: Internet Protocol...provide real time two way communications with another H.323 terminal, GW or MCU . This communication consists of any possible combination of voice...323 terminals based on Open Source applications (open MCU from Openh323 project) modified in order to implement the new SIT services, such as Push

field ration system. MAP technology will be best used for oxygen and moisture control in shelf-stable rations, ethylene absorption in fresh produce and...packaging [3]. To a certain degree foods packaged with absorbing materials for oxygen or moisture are also considered to be modified atmosphere...The gas mixture may change with tire depending on the type of food. Intermediate and high moisture foods must be stored in the refrigerator or freezer

intervention to recommend that actors who work to create positive emergent outcomes should examine patterns of systemic interaction and experiment with...ways of intervening. Then actors should examine the interactions and outcomes to “ improve the chance that they do not pose more dangers or 30...knowledge of the human and the physical terrain of Afghanistan. The process started a yearlong effort to get everybody on the same sheet of music

point scale was developed to assign a subjective value to the the system’s overall performance for each table 2 head- ing. The scale was as follows: O...fairly well with prevent its use in some aircraft and ve - lab tests. hides. All have logistic concerns which must be addressed Cost ranged from $250...and Equipment Ease of Use, Effectiveness, and Compatibility Scale : Very Good Good Fair Poor 4 3 2 1

The Department of Defense maintains an inventory of over 1,800 MW of engine-generators 15 KW and larger, with an estimated procurement rate of over 140 MW/year. Nearly the entire requirement could be met by advanced heat engines of the types being developed as point-focussing, distributed receiver power plants. A conceptual system consisting of a heat engine which efficiently burns liquid fossil or synthetic fuels, with a 'solarization kit' for conversion to hybrid solar operation could meet existing DOD requirements for new systems which are quieter, lighter, and multi-fueled. An estimated 24 percent (33 MW/year) or more could operationally benefit from the solar option. Baseline cost projections indicate levelized energy cost goals of 210 to 120 mills/KWh (15 to 1000 KW systems). Fuel cost escalation is the major factor affecting the value of the solar option. A baseline calculation for fuel at $0.59/gal in spring, 1979, escalating at 8 percent above general inflation indicates a value of $2700/KWe for a solarization kit.

We report the progress of an ongoing effort by the Air Resources Laboratory, NOAA to build a prototype regional Chemical Analysis System (ARLCAS). The ARLCAS focuses on providing long-term analysis of the three dimensional (3D) air-pollutant concentration fields over the continental U.S. It leverages expertise from the NASA Earth Science Division-sponsored Air Quality Applied Science Team (AQAST) for the state-of-science knowledge in atmospheric and data assimilation sciences. The ARLCAS complies with national operational center requirement protocols and aims to have the modeling system to be maintained by a national center. Meteorology and chemistry observations consist of land-, air- and space-based observed and quality-assured data. We develop modularized testing to investigate the efficacies of the various components of the ARLCAS. The sensitivity testing of data assimilation schemes showed that with the increment of additional observational data sets, the accuracy of the analysis chemical fields also increased incrementally in varying margins. The benefit is especially noted for additional data sets based on a different platform and/or a different retrieval algorithm. We also described a plan to apply the analysis chemical fields in environmental surveillance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. PMID:25514141

We report the progress of an ongoing effort by the Air Resources Laboratory, NOAA to build a prototype regional Chemical Analysis System (ARLCAS). The ARLCAS focuses on providing long-term analysis of the three dimensional (3D) air-pollutant concentration fields over the continental U.S. It leverages expertise from the NASA Earth Science Division-sponsored Air Quality Applied Science Team (AQAST) for the state-of-science knowledge in atmospheric and data assimilation sciences. The ARLCAS complies with national operational center requirement protocols and aims to have the modeling system to be maintained by a national center. Meteorology and chemistry observations consist of land-, air- and space-based observed and quality-assured data. We develop modularized testing to investigate the efficacies of the various components of the ARLCAS. The sensitivity testing of data assimilation schemes showed that with the increment of additional observational data sets, the accuracy of the analysis chemical fields also increased incrementally in varying margins. The benefit is especially noted for additional data sets based on a different platform and/or a different retrieval algorithm. We also described a plan to apply the analysis chemical fields in environmental surveillance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The paper reports on current advances in the development of the Dornier Obstacle Warning System (OWS) for helicopters, with particular emphasis on the Obstacle Warning Ladar (OWL). Here both segments, development and application of the 1.5 micrometer imaging laser radar (LADAR) will be represented. It will be shown how advances in the eyesafe LADAR technology resulted in Obstacle Warning Ladar optimized for wire detection leading to a system family platform covering the range from the commercial needs up to the military requirements.

This paper describes the inclusion of optical images acquired from orbiting telescopes into an autonomous European space surveillancesystem via the Advance Space SurveillanceSystem Simulator (AS4). Special interest on space-based observation of GEO objects exists since it avoids the weather dependence and longitudinal restrictions of ground-based observations of those objects. Furthermore, space-based observations allow the detection of small objects that are not detected from ground-based sensors.In order to analyze the impact of space-based telescopes images, several aspects have to be studied. The first consideration is the selection of the appropriate orbits to locate the telescopes. A description of the most suitable orbits and strategies for the observation of space debris population will be provided.Once an appropriated orbit has been selected, the next important consideration is the analysis of an optimized pointing strategy and its associated requirements for feasibility. Several pointing strategies will be exposed by analyzing, among other factors, the impact of luminosity conditions in the most populated regions to be observed. Numerical results are presented in the form of statistics, which reflect the compromise between the density of detected objects, and other important parameters for orbit determination and cataloguing purposes as re-acquisition times or measurement track duration.Finally, overall analyses of possible space-based constellations are presented. Such constellations are aimed to solve the main drawbacks in considering only one satellite at the selected orbit. This is for example the case of revisit times when considering a sub GEO orbiting telescope which can be solve by re-distributing several sensors in the orbit. It will also allow carrying on more complex pointing strategies by the definition of several sensors located at same orbit pointed at two different regions.The AS4 was developed by DEIMOS Space ([1], [2] and also [5]). The

Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality each year, with 2–8% of weekly outpatient visits around the United States for influenza-like-illness (ILI) during the peak of the season. Effective use of existing flu surveillance data allows officials to understand and predict current flu outbreaks and can contribute to reductions in influenza morbidity and mortality. Previous work used the 2009–2010 influenza season to investigate the possibility of using existing military and civilian surveillancesystems to improve early detection of flu outbreaks. Results suggested that civilian surveillance could help predict outbreak trajectory in local military installations. To further test that hypothesis, we compare pairs of civilian and military outbreaks in seven locations between 2000 and 2013. We find no predictive relationship between outbreak peaks or time series of paired outbreaks. This larger study does not find evidence to support the hypothesis that civilian data can be used as sentinel surveillance for military installations. We additionally investigate the effect of modifying the ILI case definition between the standard Department of Defense definition, a more specific definition proposed in literature, and confirmed Influenza A. We find that case definition heavily impacts results. In conclusion, this study thus highlights the importance of careful selection of case definition, and appropriate consideration of case definition in the interpretation of results.

Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality each year, with 2–8% of weekly outpatient visits around the United States for influenza-like-illness (ILI) during the peak of the season. Effective use of existing flu surveillance data allows officials to understand and predict current flu outbreaks and can contribute to reductions in influenza morbidity and mortality. Previous work used the 2009–2010 influenza season to investigate the possibility of using existing military and civilian surveillancesystems to improve early detection of flu outbreaks. Results suggested that civilian surveillance could help predict outbreak trajectory in local military installations. To further test that hypothesis, we comparemore » pairs of civilian and military outbreaks in seven locations between 2000 and 2013. We find no predictive relationship between outbreak peaks or time series of paired outbreaks. This larger study does not find evidence to support the hypothesis that civilian data can be used as sentinel surveillance for military installations. We additionally investigate the effect of modifying the ILI case definition between the standard Department of Defense definition, a more specific definition proposed in literature, and confirmed Influenza A. We find that case definition heavily impacts results. In conclusion, this study thus highlights the importance of careful selection of case definition, and appropriate consideration of case definition in the interpretation of results.« less

Influenza causes significant morbidity and mortality each year, with 2-8% of weekly outpatient visits around the United States for influenza-like-illness (ILI) during the peak of the season. Effective use of existing flu surveillance data allows officials to understand and predict current flu outbreaks and can contribute to reductions in influenza morbidity and mortality. Previous work used the 2009-2010 influenza season to investigate the possibility of using existing military and civilian surveillancesystems to improve early detection of flu outbreaks. Results suggested that civilian surveillance could help predict outbreak trajectory in local military installations. To further test that hypothesis, we compare pairs of civilian and military outbreaks in seven locations between 2000 and 2013. We find no predictive relationship between outbreak peaks or time series of paired outbreaks. This larger study does not find evidence to support the hypothesis that civilian data can be used as sentinel surveillance for military installations. We additionally investigate the effect of modifying the ILI case definition between the standard Department of Defense definition, a more specific definition proposed in literature, and confirmed Influenza A. We find that case definition heavily impacts results. This study thus highlights the importance of careful selection of case definition, and appropriate consideration of case definition in the interpretation of results.